SneGiri hosts event in ice-cold water to test players’ mettle
SneGiri hosts event in ice-cold water to test players’ mettle
BY Flemming Emil Hanson, December 24, 2020 — KEMEROVO – Ask someone: ‘How about a game of chess while taking a dip in ice-cold water?’ Their reaction would be: ‘Are you crazy?’
However, this is what two Russians bearing identical names did in Kemerovo, a city in the south-central Russian region with the same name.
It seems being crazy has a brighter side also. Besides their love for chess, both named as Aleksandr, stand to benefit more from this unusual underwater tournament.
A Russian winter-swimming club the SneGiri (which means the snowbirds) hosted the underwater chess competition in ice-cold water to test the players’ mettle.
Both players played each other for an hour. They dipped into the water for five minutes at a time and spent up to a minute submerged to make their next move.
The men had warming breaks every five minutes.
Images show the players, wearing only shorts and swimming caps, lowering the chessboard into the water, which is surrounded by ice and snow.
The two health-enthusiasts have a lot of experience in winter-swimming, but this was the first time they had been in icy water for such a long time, stated a report in newspaper Life.
Freezing, but content, they reportedly enjoyed a hot tea in the bathhouse after the game.
A report in national newspaper Vesti quoted the keen chess players as saying that it is not only important to be smarter than your opponent, but also more disciplined to win the game.
Winter or cold-water swimming is a popular activity in the Nordic countries. It is known for a range of health benefits such as stress reduction, better memory function, and higher levels of energy.
Winter swimming is practised during the winter at outdoor locations, public pools. It is also called ice swimming by breaking the frozen ice over water or dipping in a spring, where ice formation is prevented.
In Finland, Russia, and Baltic countries winter swimming is associated with the Epiphany celebrations. Swimmers winter-swim by wearing regular swimming costumes, not wetsuits or any thermal protection.
The practice has also been linked to alleviating mental health problems such as depression.
Diving Chess was started by Etan Ilfeld of London. Diving Chess is played in a pool and each player must play while being underwater. Special magnetic boards and pieces that are suitable underwater are used. The time a player gets for a move is the time they can remain underwater. A player has to make his or her move before surfacing, or else they lose the game.
The SneGiri went a step beyond Diving Chess as they had organised the tournament in icy water.
(Edited by Shirish Shinde and Megha V Choudhary)
(Edited by Shirish Vishnu Shinde and Megha Virendra Choudhary)
