Diving Chess
The Ultimate Physical and Intellectual Challenge
What is Diving Chess?
If you’re looking for a new and challenging past time then Diving Chess might be for you. Diving Chess is like normal chess but played in a swimming pool with a submerged, weighted and magnetised chessboard and pieces (available for order). Each player can only think as long as they are able to hold their breath. Once they’ve made a move they can come up for air, then their opponent must dive and cannot come back up until they’ve played a move, else forfeit the game. Diving really changes the game strategy. Sometimes, you’ll want to play moves really fast so that your opponent doesn’t have an opportunity to catch their breath.
American chess master Etan Ilfeld came up with this quirky chess variant in 2012 as part of the annual Mind Sports Olympiad, a week-long event with over 70 different boardgame tournaments. In addition to the annual World Championships—traditionally held in London—national championships are now taking place in Germany, Poland, Austria, and the Netherlands, reflecting the sport’s growing international momentum. For more info or to try your Diving Chess, contact mindsportsolympiad@gmail.com
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Ready to order for the first time! As seen on ESPN and used in world championship play, the Diving Chess Set...
We’re excited to announce that Diving Chess will be featured on ESPN 2 at 2am ET on Aug 2, or...
Congratulations to Michal Mazurkiewicz and Alex Freeland for sharing Gold in the 2024 Diving Chess World Championship, which took place...
On the 21st of April Michał Mazurkiewicz attempted a new Guinness World Record by playing Diving Chess simultaneously against 16...
Peter Anthony Holder is the host of The Stuph File Program. Episode 0474 features an interview with Diving Chess inventor...
The 2018 Diving Chess World Championship took place on August 27 at the Third Space Gym in Soho. As usual, all of...
If you’re looking for a new and challenging past time then Diving Chess might be for you. Diving Chess is like normal chess but played in a...
“Rules” Diving Chess is like normal chess but played in a swimming pool with a submerged, weighted and magnetised chessboard and pieces (available for...
