Some readers will think I’m making this up. There was just a championship competition in chess boxing, a sport with alternating rounds of boxing, chess, boxing, chess, like that. See, I warned you.

I know what you’re thinking: chess players are smart, and boxers, um, aren’t. So where do they get players? A good question. And how do they move those little-bitty pieces with boxing gloves? How can you say “check-mate” with those teeth-guards?

And perhaps the best question of all, why didn’t they truly merge these two games? Give each boxer a 25-pound pawn made out of iron, and let them pound the poop out of each other until one of them can’t get up. Now, there’s a sport! A chess boxing slideshow



Germany’s Frank Stoldt (R) and David Depto from the U.S. compete in chess boxing light heavyweight world championship fight in Berlin November 3, 2007. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz

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