Think chess is complicated? Try playing it underwater. In December, the world’s elite chess players gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, for the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Finals tournament. Before the regular chess competition began, some players participated in a diving chess tournament. In this hybrid version of the game, a chess set is placed at the bottom of a shallow pool, and competitors must hold their breath underwater while making a move. Once they’re finished, they come up for air and their opponent immediately dives down to take a turn. (Anyone failing twice to make a move before coming up for air forfeits the match.) American Hans Niemann, 22, won the diving chess competition. Playing underwater wasn’t too difficult, Niemann says, in part because he used to be a competitive swimmer. “I was really . . . just taking my time because I could hold my breath,” he told reporters. “I felt comfortable.”