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Sumo and chess have a great deal in common, aside from both
having been invented by the French. Both games are symbolic
battles, both are ancient, and both are not quite exciting enough
to
get major television coverage.
Clearly, much is to be gained by combining the best features of
both.
Sumo
chess takes place on an arena 80ft x 80ft, divided into 10ft
squares. Black and white sand is used to create the usual
chequerboard pattern.
At the start of the game, the opponents (16 per team) occupy the
first and last
two
rows of squares, arranged in the usual way. Elaborate but
unencumbering head-dresses indicate the different types of piece
(pawn, knight, bishop etc), whilst black or white mawashi
distinguish the two teams.
In contrast to conventional sumo, the players of sumo chess are
divided into three weight categories. All pawns must be
lightweights (under 190 pounds); rooks, bishops and knights must
be
middleweights (190-240 pounds); the queen must be a
heavyweight
(over 240 pounds). The king must be a lightweight.
Play takes place much as in conventional chess, with the captains
of
each team calling out moves in alternation. Allowable moves are
the same as those in chess.
The main difference from conventional chess is in the way pieces
are
taken. In chess, the attacking piece always wins (for example, a
pawn can take a queen). In sumo chess, however, there is no such
certainty: the two opposing players must complete a regular sumo
match in the square being contested. The only difference from
conventional sumo is that the arena is a 10ft square rather than
the
more usual circle. Defeated pieces leave the arena.
Thus, some careful thought must be given to attacking moves. A
knight will have a weight advantage over a pawn, but a nimble
and
fresh pawn may out-maneuver a queen who has been exhausted by
several prior bouts.
Players reaching the opposite side of the board may be substited
by
any other player except a king.
Winning sumo chess differs slightly from winning regular chess. In
normal chess, the game is lost when the king is in checkmate - it
cannot move to any square which is not attacked by an opponent's
piece. In Sumo chess, however, checkmate does not assure victory
-
the attack must be carried through. If the plucky lightweight king
can defeat an attacking heavyweight queen, for example, then he
survives and the game continues.
Chess Boxing
http://wcbo.org/content/e14/index_en.html A Western variation of this idea. [Wrongfellow, Oct 07 2010]
D'Echecs, pour M. [Wily]
Pretend_20everythin..._20someone_20French [Jinbish, Oct 08 2010]
[link]
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Would the Queen be played by a woman? |
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I thought about that. I'm not entirely sure of the propriety
of inter-gender sumo, what with the costumes and all, but
I'm sure a way could be found. Of course, all-female teams
could be fielded. |
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Yes, of course. <daydreams....> |
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Naughty [hippo], back in your cage ... |
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Remember that Sumo doesn't have a weight category (although I am sure that weight is an advantage in many circumstances). I am also not sure that you have the right weight levels - Mushasimaru, the former USian yokazuna, was over 500lb. (Of course, he was a *big* boy!) |
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Ah - according to WikiP, amatuer Sumo weights are:
Lightweight: Up to 187lb
Mediumweight: Up to 253lb
Heavyweight: Over 253lb |
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Point taken about the weights - amended. Thanks. |
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Re. the Chess Boxing (link) - this is clearly a horse of a
different feather. Chess Boxing appears to be alternating
complete chess matches with complete boxing matches,
thereby combining the dullness of both rather than the
excitement of both. |
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//Players reaching the opposite side of the board may be substited by any other player except a king// Obviously you meant "sub-sitted' meaning to crush by sitting on. |
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//Obviously you meant...// |
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Nope. And, for the recorded, when I wrote "defeated" I
meant "defeated", not "defecated" or "de-feeted". |
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And by meant...not you meant mentally substituted...with, I presume? |
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//combining the dullness of both// |
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I have to agree. I've always thought that chess boxing would be more interesting if the boxing matches decided the outcome of the chess captures, like in this idea. |
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If you are losing really badly, could you give some
sort of command, say 'Charge!' and your players
would swarm all over the other guys, sort of like
when you get frustrated and flip the chess board
off the table? Your defeated players could rush
back into the arena, rested, substiting the
remaining players. |
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Of course, you *could.* Not sure why I had to ask.
Flipping the board isn't written into the rules. You
just do it when you have to. Sometimes you have
to. |
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This is a really interesting idea [+]. |
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My only observation being "chess was invented by the French"? Actually, it's usually thought to come from India (from an earlier/different Chinese version); whence it went to Persia (where it picked up some terminology like "check mate" - Shah mat: the king is dead); then to the Muslims where the Moors introduced it to Spain; and then France... |
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However, I could see this being a great hit in Japan - (assuming the game is switched to Japanese chess: shogi). |
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Au contraire. "Chess" derives from the olde French "Chez
de l'Est", because the game was developed by the early
French spice-traders who needed something to amuse
themselves while they were away from their families in
their "House in the East". |
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"Check mate" is actually a corruption of "Chacun mort",
which was a polite way of consoling your opponent when
you won ("Everyone dies" - i.e., "you can't win them all.") |
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Likewise, "Sumo" wrestling derives its name from the
ancient French private school of Saumur. Traditional
wrestling had long been practiced there, until one day a
plucky schoolboy decided to pick up his opponent's balls
and run with them, creating "Saumur Wrestling." (This is
also the origin of the famous 'whine of Saumur'.) |
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! Well played, [MB]. Well played. |
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Thanks for the link, [Jinbish], I thought I was going crazy for a minute... |
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//Nope. And, for the recorded,//..... I'm still having trouble with that word "substited" and now I'm beginning to think that it might be some kind of tit that over which a patch of skin has grown, in which case it should surely be subs-titted? |
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I am starting a campain for equal rights for disabled words. |
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//Sumo and chess have a great deal in common,
aside from both having been invented by the
French. // |
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When a HBaker slips such an unlikely sounding bit
into an idea or anno, it can be difficult for some of
us HBakers to discern the difference between
verifiable fact and just witty bloviation. |
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His prowess in this ruse, of course, is what makes
[MB] one of the true Masters of the Halfbakery.
(Nod to [MB]). |
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A True Master rarely, if ever, edits typos or
misspellings (he/she makes very few in the first
place), the better to dupe (and amuse) us. |
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One will find it safest and most effective, when
commenting on [Max]'s (and many others') posts, to
assume they are all of the factual kind, or at least
to respond as if they are. Careful research or
deliberate, practiced pleonastics are advised
before posting replies. |
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[Wily]//I thought I was going crazy for a minute...// |
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I'll try and remember that. |
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Perhaps to be of even more help, you could post a sample annotation that us lesser mortals might follow when wanting to provide the great master with an opportunity to illuminate us as to his way with miss-spelled words. |
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//campain// def -Rotating knob with a projecting aspect that delivers an unpleasant sensory stimulation to a nerve ending. |
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Boomer, Boomer, Boomer..... I would be deeply
amberrassed by your undeserved praise, had I but a single
modest hair in my body. |
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Hang on. Did you call me a Masterbaker? |
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[xenzag] //...post a sample annotation// |
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The idea presented on this page is a good sample.
The art is not just in misspellings, of course. But,
you know this... |
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I would consider you one of the Masters, as well. I
don't want to turn this into an awards ceremony,
but to quote you--in reply to how you come up
with such great ideas: |
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"I just imagine you reading it and it comes
easily.[Xenzag]" |
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I am a humble newbie. That post above was more a
declaration of "Oh, NOW I get it" than a lecture to
anyone. |
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[MB]//...had I but a single modest hair in my body.// |
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How's that egobesity coming along, btw? |
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//Did you call me a Masterbaker?// |
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[Xen] //I would be deeply amberrassed..[MB]// |
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//had I but a single modest hair in my body// modest hair... def - hair which used to be a member of a 60s youth movement in UK characterised by (inter alia) use of scooters covered in mirrors, but then underwent form of seminar training developed by former used car salesman Werner Erhard. |
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//safest and most effective//... //to assume they are all
of the factual kind, or at least to respond as if they are// |
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Whoa! With the best of respect [B'shine], that's bollocks.
That kind of reasoning does not just endanger the gullible,
it lets down all those freshbakers that have had their ears
chewed for some misdemeanour. It's our duty- nae, our
pleasure to pursue a suspicious & pedanterous course of
action whenever we can. |
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It is then incumbent, as you comment, on the baker to
defend, sidestep, reflect attention from, re-write in a
sinister Orwellian fashion, or batter ahead in a Black
Kiniggit stylee. |
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I agree... each "baker" should receive a device in the post into which they must insert the fingers of one hand when posting an idea or annotating. On confirmed detection of a spelling mistake etc, a piece of one finger is snipped off by the device. |
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This may seem harsh, but it's a fair method in a cruel world. |
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[Jinbish] //It's our duty- nae, our pleasure to
pursue a suspicious & pedanterous course of action
whenever we can.// |
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Agreed, of course. I suggested Bakers (fresh or
otherwise) assume that posts are 'the factual kind,
or at least to respond as if they are.' |
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Perhaps I should have said 'respond as if they
*might* be (factual),' thereby showing respect
while the responder pursues the 'suspicious &
pedanterous'...or pedantic. |
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OK, OK. Back to work, everyone. |
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//Factual posts// Fencing uprights with pages of Encyclopedia Britannica inscribed into wood grain. |
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[Xenzag] //This may seem harsh// |
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It is harsh. Poor [Max] would be fingerless by now just
for his intentional misspellings. The man has 'not a
single (modest) hair' on his body. Now you want to
cut off his fingers? Is this a Bakery or an abattoir? |
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//OK, OK. Back to work, everyone.// |
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[MB], the relentless jester. |
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