Underwater Chess

Recently I met a friend who happens to be a very good swimmer. After knowing my interest in Chess, he offered to play against me. However, since he is much lower rated, he said to play under certain different conditions to make the game even for both the opponents. Here are his conditions:

1) The game will be played underwater in a swimming pool. The player who goes up for air will lose immediately, so the game has to be blitz style.

2) After I told him that I am not that good in holding my breath for a long time and may lose on time, he suggested another idea to plug the bottom of the chess pieces after filling it with compressed air. But each can unplug only his opponent's captured pieces, which would provide oxygen for another 10 to 25 seconds, depending on the size of the chess piece.

So, pls help me in deciding what strategy shall I use to defeat him in this variation of Chess, since I don't want to lose on time.

Play at the shallow end, and use a tube (traditionally, a cut off stem) to get air scuba style.

Wow, that sounds really cool!

I would play a gambit. Kings Gambit, Sicilian Wing Gambit, French Wing Gambit if your white. I dont know many gambits with black, but that's easy to find the first moves of.

How much time do you have?

Mana, are you mad? If you take this challenge your mind's going to be on how nervous you are about the breathing under water thing and not on the game! Good luck anyway!

I have a bad feeling about this...

@artifizz: Sorry, using tube is not allowed.

@seirupDK: Gambits sounds good, besides i would need to capture many pieces quickly to get my oxygen dose.

@galabob: Strange is the language of Chess.

@Azukikuru: come on, it would be fun ;)

Which opening would provide me to capture many pieces, or fast exchanges, if i can get a bishop or knight after 45 seconds, then it would be great.

wouldn't filling the pieces with air give them varying levels of bouyancy? I guess you could try using magnets to keep them down, but even so i think one of the toughest things about that game will be keeping the pieces from floating away :P

@mike100000: yeah, keeping the pieces from floating away is a tough task. We plan to place a large flat magnet below the chess board, and sticking small metallic coins on a wooden cork which will be plugged at the bottom of the chess piece after stuffing it with a balloon of air. Sounds crazy but we like experimenting :)

Maybe suction cups would work as well as they can easily store air in them and you can slide them around as well

manavendra, do you have a sky-diver friend to play chess with?

Not yet, but that's a cool idea! My other intent is to play Chess in outer space in zero gravity with chess pieces hanging in air and the chess board being drawn using laser light out of thin air. So many dreams, so little time...

I would play the Glob.

If your just keep attacking in a gambit, then pieces will be taken hurry. You could sacrafise a bishop or a knight for a strong attack.
Im also thinking open French, but he can just play closed:

the loser would be the first one to pull the chute?  brings whole new meaning to "why wont my opponent resign!!!!".

Yes, but then the thoughts stop abruptly. And then the person who doesn't resign regrets it for the precious 0.000000000000000000000001 seconds he has left