While the world was busy watching the US election, most people missed one of the most randomly entertaining showdowns in the world: Russia's Shchukin Anantolii delivering a beating to France's Logan Noche in the 6th annual World Chessboxing Championships.
(Yes, this is a real thing.)
This year's bout was held in the Dinamo Arena in Yerevan, Armenia.
Anantolii defeated Noche in a fifth round checkmate!
If you're not familiar with the exciting world of chessboxing, here's all you need to know.
The sport was first imagined by Serbian comic book artist Enki Bilal.
The comic, 'Alexander Nikopol Gesamtausgabe,' is part of a trilogy created by Enki Bilal, a Serbian comic book legend. It tells the story of an apocalyptic society of escalated violence, set in the year 2034. In this world, hockey is played with steel, stick blades sharpened into knives. And two men box one another on a chessboard floor, the match ending with one player braining the other with the queen.
But, it wasn't until a Dutch performance artist turned the idea into performance art, that the concept really took off.
His performance was popular enough that he founded Chess Boxing Global, and the rest is history.
Here's the entirety of the 2024 championship fight so you can watch the glorious battle play out:
And, of course a Russian wins!
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