Watch out for Kasparov's left hook.

Inspired by something he saw in a comic book, some guy in Germany has started a new sport: chess boxing. Participants compete in alternating rounds of chess and boxing--rounds of chess last four minutes, rounds of boxing last two--until one of the players has either been knocked out, checkmated, or exceeds the twelve minutes alotted for the chess match. Its inventor says that in its mix of physical competition and mental strategy, the sport captures "the duality of man," but really it seems like a recipe for watching lousy chess and bad boxing. When a Kasparov and a Fischer are willing to climb into the ring together between rounds of chess, I'll tune in, if only to see what they look like with their shirts off.