The Man Who Plays Chess Underwater Against 16 Opponents At Once Is Getting His Own ESPN Special
Michal Mazurkiewicz from Poland holds the Guinness World Records title for most simultaneous diving chess opponents, taking on 16 players at once in 2024, swimming between each board on one breath per move. He won 12 games, tied three, and lost one. He is a three-time Diving Chess World Champion who once played chess while cage diving with sharks. His story is now getting its own ESPN2 special, Diving Chess: World Tour, which aired this August 8th, covering events including the World Championships he organized in Poland in May where 62 players competed for a £10,000 prize.
Diving chess rules are elegantly brutal. The board sits at the bottom of the pool. No clock, time per move is determined by your lungs. Make your move on one breath, then surface. Surface without moving and you lose. When your opponent surfaces you must dive immediately. No equipment except goggles. The sport was created in 2012 by Etan Ilfeld of the Mind Sports Olympiad to make chess more physical, and has since developed a global following.
Michal's path to the sport is unexpectedly moving. During the pandemic he suffered a serious back injury and could not walk for months, giving up football and most activities he loved. He started swimming to recover. A friend mentioned the Polish Diving Chess Championships. He had played chess since childhood, held a scuba certification, and was now swimming regularly. "It feels like this discipline was created for me," he said. He won the Polish championship, then three consecutive World Championships, then the Guinness World Record. He plays chess nearly every day and swims five to six days a week. The ESPN special is the next chapter.
