Doctor Fate--Chess Master!!

During much of the Golden Age, Doctor Fate was about as magical as my butt.

Sure, he could go through walls, and was mostly "invulnerable" because his "body is composed of pure energy."

But there was almost no magic, no Nabu, no Lords Of Order or protecting Earth from mystic threats.

Nope, Fate was pretty much just Spider-Man-- beating up hoods while quipping:

Seriously, that was pretty much all Fate did!

So when he meets the evil chess master...

...well, it doesn't go quite like you'd think a master of magic trapped in a life-size chess game would go.

Michael Krugor is an unbeaten chess champion...but he's also a thief and murderer.

So when he learns that Fate is on his trail, well, it's a chance to fulfill that super-villain dream!

And when Kent Nelson shows up...

Some master of the mystic arts!!

When Fate awakens...

Fate and the party guests get to play one side, and Krugor's hoods play the other...

But this is not normal chess...

It's beat the living crap out of the other chess pieces!!

Take that, Kasparov!!

You're going down, Bobby Fischer!

Poor Krugor can't figure out why this is different than a regular game of chess--even though he made the rules! This guy is no Arcade, that's for sure!

Check this, Capablanca!

Taste my fists, Alekhine!

Time for the final gambit!

What the what?

And Lasker goes down!!

So let's wrap this up:

Thus endeth Doctor Fates quippy, trippy, fisticuffy, and most decidedly unmagical chess battle.

Initial panels from More Fun Comics  #75 (1942). Chess battle from More Fun Comics #76 (1942)