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Two "chessmen" perform martial arts techniques. Photo H.T |
In human chess competition taking place in Nhon Hung Commune of An Nhon District, each move shows martial arts performance among chessmen.
"Martial arts" human chess
Human chess is a popular traditional game. In 2006, Master Nguyen Xuan Canh decided to renew the game. "I asked the elderly about the old way to play human chess and found the way to renew it," said Master Canh.
He combined martial arts with human chess, making the chess playing more interesting. Noteworthy is that he suitably arranged martial arts techniques for each chessman. He selected 32 martial arts learners to form a team.
They had to hardly practise for several months before performing as chessmen in a human competition.
The human chess competition
On February 13, the atmosphere at the stadium of Nhon Hung Commune became bustling with the final human chess competition. In the early morning, many gathered at the stadium, waiting for the competition.
As scheduled, there were three drum-rolls signalling the start of the game at seven pm. Two players, Le Thanh Thang and Pham Dinh Tho, in Vietnamese traditional dresses appeared, sitting on two high platforms behind chessmen. The MC was a well-known player in Binh Dinh named Minh Trung.
Player Thang started the game by shouting and a chessman left the position to perform martial arts techniques before reaching another position on the chessboard.
It was player Tho's turn. He also shouted and his chessman moved and performed beautiful skills of martial arts. They in turn played the game. If one of them lost his chessmen, these had to leave the chessboard.
The spectators triumphantly cheered whenever there was a nice performance, making chessmen try their best to show their skills.
After nearly two hours, the player Thang was the winner. However, the spectators didn't want to go home, asking the organising board to continue the game. Two players had to continued playing the game, warming up the atmosphere of the game.
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