February 13, 2009, 12:53 am
By Dylan Loeb McClain
For years, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of the World Chess Federation, has been trying to get chess accepted as part of the Olympics. The effort has included instituting drug testing to comply with regulations of the International Olympic Committee. Few think that Ilyumzhinov’s crusade will succeed, but someone in upstate New York has borrowed from an existing Olympic sport to create a “sporting” event that at least seems more Olympian.
An amusing article on Chessbase.com from earlier this week recounts a “chess biathlon,” which was held in Jefferson County, New York. The participants were students from LaFargeville Central School. The competition involved cross-country skiing with periodic stops to solve chess problems posted to trees in the woods. Each participant was timed and then time was added or subtracted based on how many problems were solved correctly. The article has some nice photos, but unfortunately there are no examples of the problems, no mention of the length of the course and also no information about how long it took for the winner to complete the event.
In terms of getting chess into the Olympics, a chess biathlon probably will not stir up much interest. Chess boxing, on the other hand, seems to hold out more promise.
In this hybrid “sport,” combatants alternate between playing chess and boxing. Started by Iepe B.T. Rubingh, a German performance artist, chess boxing has a federation to oversee the sport and there have been matches staged all over Europe. There are now chess boxing organizations in Britain, Germany, Bulgaria and Russia.
Chess boxing is not being broadcast on ESPN, although the cable network did do a video segment about it two years ago, which can be seen on YouTube. So, for now, anyone wanting to see a chess boxing match will have to do in person. The next ones will be held on Feb. 21 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, in Siberian Federal University. Good luck getting there.
viernes, 13 de febrero de 2009
Is Chess a Sport? Maybe, Maybe Not.
Source:
February 13, 2009, 12:53 am
By Dylan Loeb McClain
For years, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of the World Chess Federation, has been trying to get chess accepted as part of the Olympics. The effort has included instituting drug testing to comply with regulations of the International Olympic Committee. Few think that Ilyumzhinov’s crusade will succeed, but someone in upstate New York has borrowed from an existing Olympic sport to create a “sporting” event that at least seems more Olympian.
An amusing article on Chessbase.com from earlier this week recounts a “chess biathlon,” which was held in Jefferson County, New York. The participants were students from LaFargeville Central School. The competition involved cross-country skiing with periodic stops to solve chess problems posted to trees in the woods. Each participant was timed and then time was added or subtracted based on how many problems were solved correctly. The article has some nice photos, but unfortunately there are no examples of the problems, no mention of the length of the course and also no information about how long it took for the winner to complete the event.
In terms of getting chess into the Olympics, a chess biathlon probably will not stir up much interest. Chess boxing, on the other hand, seems to hold out more promise.
In this hybrid “sport,” combatants alternate between playing chess and boxing. Started by Iepe B.T. Rubingh, a German performance artist, chess boxing has a federation to oversee the sport and there have been matches staged all over Europe. There are now chess boxing organizations in Britain, Germany, Bulgaria and Russia.
Chess boxing is not being broadcast on ESPN, although the cable network did do a video segment about it two years ago, which can be seen on YouTube. So, for now, anyone wanting to see a chess boxing match will have to do in person. The next ones will be held on Feb. 21 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, in Siberian Federal University. Good luck getting there.
February 13, 2009, 12:53 am
By Dylan Loeb McClain
For years, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of the World Chess Federation, has been trying to get chess accepted as part of the Olympics. The effort has included instituting drug testing to comply with regulations of the International Olympic Committee. Few think that Ilyumzhinov’s crusade will succeed, but someone in upstate New York has borrowed from an existing Olympic sport to create a “sporting” event that at least seems more Olympian.
An amusing article on Chessbase.com from earlier this week recounts a “chess biathlon,” which was held in Jefferson County, New York. The participants were students from LaFargeville Central School. The competition involved cross-country skiing with periodic stops to solve chess problems posted to trees in the woods. Each participant was timed and then time was added or subtracted based on how many problems were solved correctly. The article has some nice photos, but unfortunately there are no examples of the problems, no mention of the length of the course and also no information about how long it took for the winner to complete the event.
In terms of getting chess into the Olympics, a chess biathlon probably will not stir up much interest. Chess boxing, on the other hand, seems to hold out more promise.
In this hybrid “sport,” combatants alternate between playing chess and boxing. Started by Iepe B.T. Rubingh, a German performance artist, chess boxing has a federation to oversee the sport and there have been matches staged all over Europe. There are now chess boxing organizations in Britain, Germany, Bulgaria and Russia.
Chess boxing is not being broadcast on ESPN, although the cable network did do a video segment about it two years ago, which can be seen on YouTube. So, for now, anyone wanting to see a chess boxing match will have to do in person. The next ones will be held on Feb. 21 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, in Siberian Federal University. Good luck getting there.
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