by Laura Janota (Reporter) and Mike Fye (Photographer),

Last month, attendees of the long running convention, Anime Milwaukee, were treated to a special treat. Their interactive event, Cosplay Combat Chess, celebrated its 10th anniversary, pulling out the life-sized chess board, combat stage, and color commentary. 

Cosplay Combat Chess is aptly named. The regular rules for chess apply, except cosplayers stand in for your classic chess pieces. Meanwhile, two chess masters command them to move spaces and take their opponent’s pieces. This is where the fun really begins. When a piece is taken, the two cosplayers go to the main stage and perform an impromptu “fight to the death.” The cosplayer that was taken is vanquished in the most dramatic way possible, and the winning cosplayer returns to the board to the sound of a cheering, and sometimes leering, crowd. If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like to see Dio and Doflamingo go toe-to-toe, or Ganondorf and The Coordinator goading each other between moves, this is the place to find out.

 
The combatants are all volunteers, which I find wonderful. Oftentimes, Cosplay Contests are the only option for attendees to showcase their work at these conventions. Some may not feel confident enough to compete. Others may just not be interested. Events like Combat Chess are an alternative for cosplayers to get on the main stage and have their moment. 

Equally impressive are the less obvious features of the production. You have a referee with the chess masters making sure participants are placed correctly, “ringside” commentators on stage, and a birdseye view of the chess board up on the video screens complete with a digital overlay of the classic chess pieces locations. Their unseen tech crew is fed the move calls and keeps this digital overlay up to date from backstage.

I had a chance to exchange a couple emails with Patrick Gibbons, who started all of this ten years ago. Gibbons cosplays as The Coordinator, an original cosplay he created, one of the two chess masters and MC of the event. After ten successful years, Gibbons has retired from the project, passing the torch to the others on the team. 

Congratulations to Anime Milwaukee, and here’s to ten more years of Cosplay Combat Chess!

For additional convention coverage from our newest team members, check out Laura J and Mike Fye (RaptorPhoto) on Instagram. Special thanks to CosMeetUp Chicago.

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