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Olympic Chess

Physically demanding chess.
  (+8, -1)
(+8, -1)
 

Chess pieces have weight to them and require significant effort to move, making "Olympic Chess" eligible to actually be an Olympic sport (in the not-too-distant future).

A pawn might weigh something like 10-60 pounds, and the ranking pieces multiples of that (or something different) but in proportion to their point values (or whatever).

And thus the game becomes a game with physical constraints (like fatigue, especially for high-level games). There might even be divisions, like a heavyweight class for blitz games/power-lifters, and a flyweight class where nerds can still be competitive.

------

This is similar to doctorremulac3's idea titled "He-Man Chess Set" from 2009 ( /idea/He-Man_20Chess_20Set ) but different.

Baker Gordon Halveseys, Nov 08 2025

//This is similar to doctorremulac3's idea titled "He-Man Chess Set" from 2009// He-Man_20Chess_20Set
use the [link] button to make a link. [pocmloc, Nov 09 2025]

He-Man Chess Set He-Man_20Chess_20Set
doctorremulac3's idea for heavy chess pieces. [Baker Gordon Halveseys, Nov 10 2025]

Rapa Nui ('Easter Island) statues https://www.youtube...v=YpNuh-J5IgE&t=24s
[bhumphrys, May 01 2026]





       Welcome.   

       <moves Kings' pawn one square>   

       <wipes brow>   

       In before the inevitable pole vault and swimming versions.   

       Welcome to the asylum, [Baker Gordon Halveseys].
normzone, Nov 09 2025
  

       Each square should have a fence say 1 or 2 feet high all around it, to prevent sliding the pieces
pocmloc, Nov 09 2025
  

       Whose responsibility is it to remove captured pieces?
Loris, Nov 09 2025
  

       Welcome! [+]
doctorremulac3, Nov 09 2025
  

       //.. captured...//
You take it, you remove it, I reckon.
Better bulk up if you want to take the Queen...
neutrinos_shadow, Nov 09 2025
  

       //You take it, you remove it, I reckon.//   

       In that case, I might just try to take at the edges, and tipple them off the board. My heavier pieces will chill in the centre, where other guy has to risk putting his back out if he wants to take them.
Loris, Nov 09 2025
  

       I'm just curious... how is this *different* from He-Man Chess?
21 Quest, Nov 09 2025
  

       // Whose responsibility is it to remove captured pieces? //   

       Leave the injured on the field, you know, like war?
whatrock, Nov 10 2025
  

       Bun still stands, newbies get a free introductory autobun.
doctorremulac3, Nov 10 2025
  

       //I'm just curious... how is this *different* from He-Man Chess?//   

       If nothing else, the weights are different. He-Man Chess: pawns 500 pounds, pieces 1000 pounds. Or perhaps 500 kg & 1000kg.
These seem implausibly heavy to me - the lightest options are about a quarter and half a ton.
  

       Olympic Chess: pawns somewhere in the range 10-60 pounds; pieces in accordance with relative piece value. Which valuation system should be used isn't disclosed, but they usually puts knights and bishops at around 3 and queens at 9-10. So pieces would be in the range 30-100 lb (with a pawn of 10 lb) to 180-600 lb (with a pawn of 60 lb).
Incidentally, the king is sometimes considered to be around 4, in terms of its power in the end-game, so moving it would be relatively manageable. At least, compared to his wife.
Loris, Nov 10 2025
  

       Even a newbie should be punished and learn the ways of the HB, but I'm out of fishbones, so will save them up and deliver a double dose next time.
xenzag, Nov 10 2025
  

       I got this Xen.
21 Quest, Nov 10 2025
  

       @doctorremulac3, when [recent 3] goes back to August, it seems we don't get to use that autobun so often any more. I'd love to understand why.
david_scothern, Nov 10 2025
  

       " Leave the injured on the field, you know, like war? — whatrock, Nov 10 2025"   

       The captured piece is tipped over, and any square it protrudes into is either unusable, or affects movement with a minus.
normzone, Apr 30 2026
  

       How would the rules go with regard to Rapa Nui techniques? (Link)
bhumphrys, May 01 2026
  

       If the team loses control of a piece during movement, that move is forfeit. Other moves may pass over that toppled piece if possible.
normzone, May 01 2026
  

       I guess you could force each side to roll D20 or whatever after any move is decided upon and have some kind of odds/penalties determining whether it is allowed or not, add an extra point scoring system or something for draws, but that would be beyond the scope of the present "invention".
Baker Gordon Halveseys, Jun 12 2026
  

       Gotta love the D20, but now we've introduced roleplaying (+)
normzone, Jun 12 2026
  
         


 

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