Midwest Combat Chess League

Midwest Combat Chess League

MCCL Logo
Years Active	2007-current
No. of Teams	8
Location
Regions	ND, SD, MN, IA, KS, WI, IL, NE
Headquarters	Minneapolis, MN
Personnel
Commissioner	Anthony Lang
Chief Executive VP of Chess Operations	Jenna Papke

The Midwest Combat Chess League (or MCCL) is an organization that promotes and oversees Human Combat Chess competitions in the american midwest.

League History[]

The MCCL was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger between the Unified Combat Chess Conference and the Combat Chess Championship Association. Both organizations had used variants of the Venice Rules and unified their rosters to provide a deeper talent pool. It was in that year that the first league championship match in North America was held, with The Dragons taking the victory over The Roses. Every year since then has seen a championship match, with every one being held in Minnesota with the exception of the 2010 championship finals held in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Rules Changes[]

The MCCL has diverged from the original Venice rules since its inception.

2011[]

Bouts are now contested with rebated or otherwise blunted weapons to reduce injury rates. Also, after opening the weapon selections to include those from Eastern martial arts, a player exchange with the Jade Shogi League of Japan opens up.

2012[]

Rules for weapon choice are simplified/adapted to the attacker always choosing weapons, with the now single exception of Kings always having choice of weapon. (This change was made as part of the 2012 Olympic Application)

League Season Structure[]

The Midwest Combat Chess League is organized into 8 teams that compete in a 7-week regular season. Each team faces the other teams in the league once, and their final season scores determine their final season rankings. The top 4 teams then compete in a seeded playoff bracket (1st place vs 4th, 2nd place vs 3rd) to determine which two teams will meet in the season championship finals. The sole exception to this standard was the 2009 season which, due to the 2009 Players' Strike, was abridged to a 4-week season.

Championship Match[]

The annual MCCL championship match is held in early/mid summer. While the first two events did not gain much public recognition, the 2009 match held in the Xperimental Colloseum at the University of Minnesota helped gain the sport increased popularity. The league tried to levy that success with the 2010 Championship in Des Moines, IA, to disastrous results. Since 2011, the event has become a staple of the Minneapolis summer calendar. This is attributed in part to the League's successful partnership with Six Elements Theatre for the promotion of the live event.