
Chess boxing - MilnerRoute
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing
======
zacharycohn
During the peak of my athleticism, another high level athlete friend and I got
very interested in Chess boxing, but he was a FAR better chess player than I
and I was a far better martial artist than he.

We ended up settling on playing Scrabble-apples (non-referral link:
[https://www.amazon.com/Parker-Brothers-4979-Scrabble-
Apple/d...](https://www.amazon.com/Parker-Brothers-4979-Scrabble-
Apple/dp/B001FYJBM8)), sort of a "each player builds their own scrabble
crossword in front of them" game. Whenever you run out of tiles in your hand,
you say "Peel!" and everyone draws an additional tile from the bag.

We put the bag at the bottom of a snow covered, forested hill.

2+ hours of snowy hill sprints combined with trying to make words out of
scrabble tiles later... I fully appreciate how difficult it is to transition
back and forth between brain and body heavy activities.

~~~
_sdegutis
There were days when I had time to exercise for 2-3 hours straight, and I
figured I would save time by trying to write some code or invent some app in
my head while doing jumping jacks and other workouts. After a few hundred of
them, I couldn't concentrate on anything but the counting and making sure my
form was okay, and after a while even that took a lot of effort to focus on.

~~~
toomanybeersies
That's the exact reason that I enjoy going to the gym and exercising,
especially intervals and other high intensity exercise without long breaks.
It's a great way to shut off from work and other things in life for a while.

At least for a while, none of that matters, because you're more concerned
about your immediate situation.

It's the same reason that I enjoy hiking and hunting. No point in worrying
about your bills or relationships or work when you're 12 hours walk from the
road, and 4 hours drive back home.

It's a much healthier form of escapism than drugs or alcohol.

~~~
mettamage
You have given me new motivation and a plan of attack on kicking off my gaming
and media compulsion. Thanks!

------
regnerba
CCP Games holds an event every year in Iceland called Fanfest where they
invite players for EVE Online out to hangout with devs, drink, party, learn
about upcoming EVE Online changes, etc.

I bring this up because most years they do something crazy for one of the
nights. Back in 2011 they did a chessboxing match.

Here was there promo/announcement video:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaBWBmYfqVQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaBWBmYfqVQ)

And the actual match:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJy2kIWtyvQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJy2kIWtyvQ)

It was pretty crazy. It's one thing to know whats going to happen, but when
blood actually started being drawn it just went to a whole new level.

~~~
daviddumon
CCP also have the best recruiting video ever made :)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgvM7av1o1Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgvM7av1o1Q)

------
wimagguc
I went to see one of the championship finals a few years ago, and it is
excellent fun. There are two built-in moments which are bound to be awesome:
(1) when the box round is over, tension is through the roof, and the boxers
are sat down around a chess board with classical music on, and (2) when two
steps before a chess mate, the about-to-lose guy has three minutes to beat out
all the smart from the opponent. Best spectator sport I can imagine, can only
recommend to see one.

~~~
airstrike
> (2) when two steps before a chess mate, the about-to-lose guy has three
> minutes to beat out all the smart from the opponent.

LMAO... I hadn't thought of that angle... This may have single-handedly
convinced me that this the best spectator sport ever

~~~
mstade
I can confirm this sport is excellent from a spectator standpoint. I also went
to see some championship (I think) fights in London a few years ago and having
never seen it before I was very skeptical. After the event however, I raved
about it to anyone willing to listen – still do, evidently!

------
fvrghl
The Wu-Tang Clan Classic: Da Mystery Of Chessboxin'

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJk0p-98Xzc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJk0p-98Xzc)

~~~
ErikAugust
Funny how the song predates the sport by 10 years.

~~~
evan_
The song is predated by the Kung-fu movie "The Mystery of Chess Boxing" by 14
years:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_of_Chessboxing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_of_Chessboxing)

------
p3llin0r3
This is cute, but with what we now know about CTE, I can't help but find
boxing, football, etc disgusting.

I'm not just being a pretentious nerd, I actually like sports and I used to
love watching boxing / MMA.

It is so so so much worse than what we thought. Dave Mirra, Chris Benoit,
Aaron Hernandez,
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NFL_players_with_chron...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NFL_players_with_chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy#High_school_football_players_with_CTE)

[https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/footba...](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-
cte.html?_r=0)

~~~
sneak
Even without the long-term damage associated with CTE, there is limited
intellectual value to any sport that involves hitting others in the head.

~~~
montalbano
Without going to boxing I never would have developed the discipline and
endurance necessary for my university degree. How's that for intellectual
value?

~~~
omginternets
Likewise (MMA in my case).

Learning to fight generalizes beyond _actual_ fighting.

------
synesso
I'm not looking forward to the day a computer beats a human at this.

~~~
notyourday
It is already winning half of the battle.

~~~
mrguyorama
I'm pretty sure if you shoved a heavy enough server rack containing deep blue
into the ring, you would have a hard time knocking it out. In fact, you'd
likely hurt yourself in the process

------
twic
An operating theory of chessboxing i have heard is that it's really, really
hard to play chess very well at all once you've been punched in the head. As
such, chessboxing is essentially boxing, with extended breaks between rounds,
during which the contenders happen to play chess.

~~~
dbasedweeb
In the words of David Mitchell (paraphrased) Mike Tyson would be a very good
chess boxer given that after the first boxing round, his opponent would be
unconscious.

~~~
sacado2
And AFAIK, that's the reason why the first round is a chess round.

~~~
darepublic
Tyson vs Kasparov. I think it would be easier for Tyson to avoid mate in 1
round of chess than for kasparov to avoid a knockout in one round of boxing

------
jordan314
I thought I might be good at chessboxing until I saw the champion.
[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/84863-World-
Chess-...](http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/84863-World-Chess-Boxing-
Champion-Crowned)

~~~
Pxtl
.... _of course_ the champ is Russian.

Seriously, the only way this sport could be more Russian would be if they
somehow added a vodka-drinking contest round.

~~~
lambdadmitry
That's pretty racist, just so you know.

~~~
TimTheTinker
I’m sick of that label/epithet getting tossed around. No it isn’t. Racism is a
prejudiced attitude towards individuals on the basis of their ethnic or
national origin. The comment demonstrates none of that.

Seriously, is the world really a better place if we can’t laugh at one another
and especially ourselves?

Moreover, it sounds to me like the commenter is showing a decent level of
respect (or sportsmanlike admiration) towards Russians in general.

------
galaxyLogic
So nobody here sees nothing wrong trying to hit somebody as hard as you can in
their face? And encouraging the youth to be good at it?

Personally when I see a boxing match and see somebody hit in the face it hurts
me. I think that's called empathy. Getting used to boxing means you get used
to seeing violence and it doesn't hurt so much any more. Then when the moment
comes for you to hit someone in the face I guess it just feels like good
sport. No?

~~~
yodsanklai
> Getting used to boxing means you get used to seeing violence and it doesn't
> hurt so much any more.

I practiced thai boxing for many years and it may sound odd, but I don't
really see boxing as a violent sport, no more than let say soccer. I've never
hit anyone (other than on a ring) and never will, and I hate violence as much
as most people. In the context of boxing I see hitting as a technical move.

Besides the occasional bruises, rare broken ribs or black eyes, I've never
injured myself. Most of the time, you practice with control and with various
protections, wary of your partner level.

Competitions are more violent, but even there, there's a gradation. Fighters
are matched by skills and weight, depending on their level use protections
(helmet, shin guards), and the referee is there to stop the match if needed.

~~~
galaxyLogic
Isn't thai-boxing like Karate or fencing where you stop before you actually
hurt the opponent, having shown that you could do it? Whereas in boxing there
is no such conception of stopping before you actually hit.

Does boxing cause brain damage? This article says: "Almost certainly":
[https://www.livescience.com/1519-boxing-brain-
damage.html](https://www.livescience.com/1519-boxing-brain-damage.html)

~~~
kevinmchugh
No, Thai boxing or Muay Thai is not a point fighting sport. There are knock
outs. Kicks, knees, and elbows are allowed.

There's also forms of karate that allow full contact.

~~~
gadders
I boxed twice as an amateur, and got stopped in my second fight after my eye
closed up (southpaw got a thumb in my eye is my excuse).

But I look at Thai Boxing matches with flying knees, elbows, etc and that
recent video where a fighter footswept someone and then kneed them in the head
on the way down and I think "Fuck that."

------
rememberlenny
I went from not knowing anything about Chess Boxing-to-seeing it multiple
times today. I came across this: Chess Boxing's role in empowering young women
in India.

[https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/0...](https://www.newsdeeply.com/womensadvancement/articles/2018/05/10/chess-
boxing-offers-a-way-out-of-poverty-for-young-women-in-india)

------
the_af
The most important thing about chess boxing is that it was inspired by an
awesome sci-fi comic by an even more awesome artist: Enki Bilal. If you
haven't already, you should read his comics, at least the Nikopol Trilogy.

~~~
jicea
I totally agree with you, awesome comics! I was so surprised to see in the
first lines of the Wikipedia page that "Chessboxing was invented by Dutch
performance artist Iepe Rubingh.". I find this attribution quite
controversial, even if Enki Bilal is cited later in the article. A better
wording could have been "Chessboxing was invented by Dutch performance artist
Iepe Rubingh, inspired by French artist Enki Bilal’s comics."

~~~
Hoasi
Indeed what Rubingh did was implementing Enki Bilal's idea in real life
competitions.

The idea of the sport itself is explicit in the Nikopol comics:
[https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&q=enki+bilal+ch...](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&q=enki+bilal+chess+boxing+&chips=q:enki+bilal+chess+boxing,online_chips:froid+equateur&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEvqCb8InbAhUQEVAKHYiuA9wQ4lYIJygB&biw=1259&bih=646&dpr=2)

------
boffinism
I've seen a few chessboxing matches. The thing about boxing is that it's very
rare to end by KO (especially at the level of your typical chess-boxer), so it
would normally be decided on points. However, because it's speed chess they're
playing, and adrenaline is high, it's fairly hard to get all the way to the
final round without a checkmate.

So every single match I've seen has been won by the better chess player, and
the boxing has just been an interesting diversion.

~~~
relenzo
But surely if you duff the other player up enough it messes with their chess
game.

------
exeterfan
I saw this in London as few years ago. During the chess rounds the competitors
wore headphones and a commentator came into the ring and explained what were
good moves, which were mistakes. Really helped novice like me.

Someone had also had a banner which read "Take his queen, punch his spleen"

------
navalsaini
I like playing chess and working out. So I combined chess and workouts. There
are several variations,

* Do X crunches every 2 or 3 moves.

* Do X pushups/pullups/situps/skipping/etc every 2 or 3 moves.

Disclaimer: I am also creator or a chess variation halfchess.com

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
What a great game! I lost of course. I like that it makes the next game
easier, and that you can play with eight or ten pieces.

Did you try with six?

~~~
V-2
I won fairly easily. The engine is quite weak, it falls for basic tactics (is
it custom made?). But, obviously, I assume that's not the point... it's just
fun to play :) For a chess player it feels kind of like 2048. Plus, I guess,
good exercise for some endgame training.

------
EngineerBetter
I did some chess boxing once as part of a stag (batchelor?) party for a fellow
jiu-jitsuka.

It was great fun, and folks take it seriously. We were embarrassingly bad at
chess by comparison (and pretty ropey at the boxing too).

------
GCA10
Does anyone have a chess scoresheet (bonus points for annotation!) showing the
caliber of board play? I'm assuming the openings are solid but the middle game
and endings start to get very odd.

~~~
stouset
World Champion chessboxers are apparently rated in the mid-1900s ELO, which is
readily achievable by enthusiasts and not particularly impressive.

As a chess player, this makes sense to me. A super-elite grandmaster will win
eventually against a skilled amateur, but the amateur can often find ways to
stall positions or drag things out. On the other hand, an elite boxer can
literally kill their opponent in seconds if the opponent is sufficiently below
their level.

I can’t imagine a setup for this type of contest that doesn’t heavily weight
boxing skill to making the chess component nearly superfluous (or at least
effectively a tie-break). Mike Tyson against Magnus Carlson wouldn’t last five
seconds longer than the first round of chess. A skilled amateur boxer vs.
Magnus Carlson might take thirty seconds more than that.

------
Theodores
You may be surprised to learn that chess does get played in prison, not by
many people but those that do indulge can end up extremely good at it after a
year or two (or more!!!) inside. In this other world of chess there can be
betting involved too, so the stakes can be high, which is good for improving
skill levels. After all, who wants to lose a game if one's mates have bet
significant sums on you winning?

Chess boxing seems to be in a similar vein of getting people to play the game,
reaching out to those that otherwise might not play.

~~~
toolslive
Some of theses chess addicted inmates become really good. Bloodgood, for
example became 2700+.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Bloodgood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Bloodgood)

~~~
erfgh
Yeah but it was a fraud.

~~~
toolslive
how do you get from "possibly via manipulation" to "fraud" ?

------
paulific
Can't resist the chance to recommend the Japanese comic Bunburyoutou (文武両闘).

There is a free trial (in Japanese) at
[http://maoh.dengeki.com/try/bunburyoutou/index.html](http://maoh.dengeki.com/try/bunburyoutou/index.html)
but that is geoblocked an image search using the kanji above should give you
the idea.

Basically the author took the idea of chess boxing and then let his
imagination run wild. For example: In one contest the fighters competed to
factor a series of increasingly large numbers, with the winner getting the sum
of the factors in seconds for a free attack on their opponent.

------
Mysterix
There is a Chess&Run tournament every year at Enghien-les Bains (north of
Paris, France).

Each player has 10 minutes for the whole game, like in a classic blitz game,
but the clock is 10 meters away.

Next one is on May the 19th.

[http://www.echiquierdulac.fr/?p=2744](http://www.echiquierdulac.fr/?p=2744)
(in french)

Demo :
[http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/0thPHAyqDOpc](http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/0thPHAyqDOpc)

------
CGamesPlay
Frog Fractions [1] had a great history of boxing in narration form. Video form
is here [2].

[1] [http://twinbeard.com/frog-fractions/](http://twinbeard.com/frog-
fractions/) [2]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIlTJIJS8p0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIlTJIJS8p0)

------
dboshardy
Anecdotally, I play chess much worse when resting between sets in the gym than
when I'm sitting at my desk or on my couch. After a few profoundly stupid
moves while playing chess during workouts, I remembered hearing about
chessboxing and it making a whole lot of sense given what had just happened to
me.

------
sailfast
This reminds me of Squashboxing:
[https://youtu.be/pUQ8BfBlQww](https://youtu.be/pUQ8BfBlQww)

I was kinda hoping that you could punch WHILE the other player was moving
pieces so you'd be incentivized to play quickly to defend.

------
komali2
Wasn't there some weird flash game you could play that was narrated by someone
describing chess boxing?

~~~
LambdaComplex
Frog Fractions? [http://twinbeard.com/frog-
fractions/](http://twinbeard.com/frog-fractions/)

Edit: Just replayed it to that point. It's not talking about chess boxing,
just (a very incorrect history of) normal boxing.

------
jaboutboul
There’s a Wu Tang Clan song called Da Mystery of Chessboxin’. Just sayin...

------
talltimtom
It’s sort of weird that they have weight classes but not IQ classes.

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m3kw9
For a moment I thought I saw Chest Boxing

