May 31, 2011
Combining Chess and Boxing
Chess boxing looks like a fun hybrid sport.
From Wikipedia:
A match consists of up to eleven alternating rounds of boxing and chess. The match begins with a four-minute chess round. This is followed by two minutes of boxing, with rounds of chess and boxing alternating until the end. There is a one minute break between rounds…
Competitors may win by a knockout, achieving a checkmate, by the judges’ decision, or if their opponent’s twelve minutes of chess time is exceeded.
(via Offbeat Earth, Projo, Audioscrawl, WCBO)
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Why are they wearing ear muffs while playing chess?
I think it’s so they can’t hear any shouted suggestions from spectators.
The head phones are for hearing the commentator and for blocking out the audience.
Rick Reilly did a short piece on this on espn.com last year while writing his book “Sports from Hell.” As I recall, it was a pretty interesting read…