Chess Boxing

Take a look at that photo up there. See what's going on? It sure looks like two dudes in a boxing ring... playing... chess. Nah, that's stupid. It must be taken out of context. So, I looked closer and examined all the details. I was right, that is two dudes playing chess in a boxing ring. What's weirder is that there is a whole audience watching these two dudes play chess in a boxing ring.

Guess what they do inbetween chess matches? If you guessed 'trade pokemon cards' like I did... you would be wrong. They fight. Seriously, they beat the crap out of each other after playing a round of chess. After they are done nerd fighting... they go back to chess. You guessed it, bubba, we have entered the world of chess boxing. Apparently it's just one word, but I can't accept that.

I don't know what image is sillier, chess nerds fighting... or boxers playing chess. Both seem like an awfully dangerous idea. Good news, though, it is an up and coming sport. They are hiring! You too can be a chess boxer. I mean, they won't just take anyone:

Are you under the age of 35, have some boxing experience, an (estimated) ELO rating of at least 1800, and the intention of participating in a real chessboxing fight?

So, what's your ELO rating? Me neither. Unless he is talking about Jeff Lynn's 'Electric Light Orchestra rating' (Mine is 730)... I have no idea what that means. Probably chess-speak I like chess, though, and play it online a lot. I'm not very good at it. Wanna play? Go over to that link for Red Hot Pawn and start a new game. Invite me, my chess name is 'Baron von Chess'. It will then send me an e mail and we can play from there. Can anybody be surprised that this was invented by Germans?