Street Chess

Chessboxing and Poetry too!

Playing the Dozens is more than a game of fun--it is a battle for respect. It is an exhibition of emotional strength and verbal agility, a confrontation of wits instead of fists....

This verbal tradition combines elements of boxing, chess, and poetry....

Like chess, playing the dozens requires a strategy. To win a battle, you must stay two or three snaps ahead of your opponent. Even as you are being attacked, you should be setting up your counter-snaps. Should I say something about his Fayva shoes? Or perhaps attack his fat sister? I'll save my best shot for his K-Mart cologne. This is the type of strategic thinking that makes a master snapper.

Read "Playing the Dozens" from Almost Infamous.