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Chess boxing

en.wikipedia.org

51–60 of 118 posts

Re: Chess boxing

#51
post #45

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.

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.

Re: Chess boxing

#52
post #20

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.

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."

Re: Chess boxing

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 oc…

I also don't think boxing is especially 'violent' but people do get hurt. I used to box competitively on a college team (NCBA) and almost every fighter on the team above ~140lbs had had at least one concussion, with the frequency of concussion increasing with the weight of the fighter. The coaches took every precaution with headgear and sparring only with 20oz gloves, and official fights had doctors ringside, but the…

Headgear makes head trauma more likely by increasing the size of the target

Re: Chess boxing

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 oc…

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

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.

Re: Chess boxing

#55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also don't think boxing is especially 'violent' but people do get hurt. I used to box competitively on a college team (NCBA) and almost every fighter on the team above ~140lbs had had at least one concussion, with the frequency of concussion increasing with the weight of the fighter. The coaches took every precaution with headgear and sparring only with 20oz gloves, and official fights had doctors ringside, but the…

Headgear makes head trauma more likely by increasing the size of the target

That's true. I've also heard that it increases trauma by making a hit hurt less, because the fighter is able to keep going instead of being bothered by more superficial issues (e.g. cuts/bleeding).

Re: Chess boxing

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Headgear makes head trauma more likely by increasing the size of the target

That's true. I've also heard that it increases trauma by making a hit hurt less, because the fighter is able to keep going instead of being bothered by more superficial issues (e.g. cuts/bleeding).

That is essentially why boxers wear gloves. In no-gloves boxing, the head is rarely a target because it hurts the hands so bad. But the audience likes to see knockouts, sp gloves come on. I find it distasteful to design a sport around giving a person a knock on the head hard enough that their brain releases control over their body for a while.

Re: Chess boxing

#57
post #14

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.

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.

In the words of Mike Tyson: "Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth."

Re: Chess boxing

#59

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 bo…

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Bloodgood

Re: Chess boxing

#60
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

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