Chess boxing

 

A chess boxing match in Berlin, 2008

Chessboxing is a hybrid sport that combines chess with boxing in alternating rounds. In London, England there have been 15 international chessboxing tournaments since 2008 organised by London Chessboxing. Chess boxing is a fast growing sport, with large followings in Berlin and London. Several other chessboxing events have taken place around the world, including in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Nantes (France), Reykjavík (Iceland), Amsterdam, and Krasnoyarsk (Russia). Chessboxing was first reported in London in 1978 when it was introduced to the Greenwich Boys Club by the young boxer James Robinson. Subsequent versions have been recorded by artist and filmmaker Enki Bilal in his graphic novel Le Froid Equateur and in live performance by the Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh. Participants must be skilled as both boxers and chess players, as a match may be won either way.

Structure and rules

A match consists of up to eleven alternating rounds of boxing and chess. The match begins with a four-minute chess round. This is followed by three minutes of boxing, with rounds of chess and boxing alternating until the end. There is a one minute break between rounds. Speed chess is used, a form in which each player has a total of only twelve minutes for the whole game.

Competitors may win by a knockout, achieving a checkmate, opponent resignation during the contest, by the judges' decision, or if their opponent's twelve minutes of chess time is exceeded. If a competitor fails to make a move during the chess round, he is issued a warning and he must move within the next 10 seconds or become disqualified. Repeated warnings may also result in a disqualification to prevent stalling during the chess round. The players put on headphones during the chess portion so that they cannot hear any shouted assistance from the audience or the live chess commentary. If the chess game reaches a stalemate, the scores from the boxing rounds are used to determine the winner. If the boxing score is also a tie, the player with the black pieces wins.

History

The hybrid sport was envisioned in 1992 by cartoonist Enki Bilal, and chess boxing was featured in his graphic novel Froid Équateur. Iepe Rubingh brought the concept to life, fighting under the name "Iepe the Joker". Rubingh felt the method described in the book, a boxing match followed by a chess match, was impractical. He instead decided on alternating rounds of chess and boxing.

A similar concept was featured in the 1991 Finnish film Uuno Turhapuro—herra Helsingin herra, where the hero plays blindfold chess against one person using a hands-free telephone headset while boxing another person. It is not known if Bilal was aware of the movie. There was also a 1979 movie by director Joseph Kuo called Ninja Checkmate; the English-dubbed American version was known as the Mystery of Chess Boxing. It does not feature chess boxing, but it is probably the inspiration for the Wu-Tang Clan song "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" on their first album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993). Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA is a fan and advocate of the sport.

The earliest chessboxing reference occurred in London in 1978 when two brothers Stewart and James Robinson began chessboxing at the Samuel Montagu Boys Club. Iepe Rubingh was unaware of this before being shown the picture at the Berlin vs London press conference in June 2011.

The sport is governed by the World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO), whose strapline is "The smartest toughest (wo)man on the planet." The first world championship was held in Amsterdam in 2003 and was won by Iepe Rubingh. The First European Chess Boxing Championship took place in Berlin on October 1, 2005. Tihomir Atanassov Dovramadjiev of Bulgaria defeated Andreas "D" Schneider of Germany, who conceded in the seventh (chess) round.

2006

On the left: reigning light heavyweight world champion Nikolay Sazhin from Russia.

On April 21, 2006, 400 spectators paid to watch two chess boxing matches in the Gloria Theatre, Cologne. Zoran "the Priest" Mijatovic opened with the Queen's Gambit. Zoran's opponent, a 37-year-old former UN Peacekeeper named Frank "Anti Terror" Stoldt, was well prepared and dominated in both the chess and the boxing rounds. In the seventh round (chess) Mijatovic realized he was three moves away from being checkmated and resigned.

2008

In April 2008, the World Chess Federation FIDE posted a video on its website showing its president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, playing a friendly chess boxing match in Elista. That same month, the United Kingdom's first chess boxing club was begun in London by the Great Britain Chess Boxing Organization's founder Tim Woolgar.

In July 2008 in Berlin, a 19-year-old Russian mathematics student Nikolai Sazhin won the "World Champion" title in chess boxing by defeating Frank Stoldt. Stoldt resigned in the 5th round (chess) after losing his queen.

2009

On November 28, 2009 the light heavyweight world championship bout took place between chess boxers Nikolay "The Chairman" Sazhin and Leo "Granit" Kraft, at the Ivan Yargin Palace of Sport in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, before a crowd of 2000. Sazhin, a native of Krasnoyarsk, had previous amateur boxing experience, having fought in 95 previous bouts (winning 85), and possessed a chess Elo rating of 2005; however, he had recently suffered an injury to his knee. His opponent, Kraft, was four years younger (at 17 years of age); he was born in Gomel, Belarus, but was representing the German Chess Boxing Organisation. Although younger, Kraft had fought in 50 amateur boxing fights (with a record of 45 wins), and had an Elo rating of 1997.

The fight opened with the Grünfeld Defence, and was followed by the first boxing round, which was largely dominated by the younger Kraft. The return to the chessboard in the third round saw Kraft castling early, and the resulting play saw Kraft having to defend his king. Sazhin continued in the subsequent boxing round, taking the upper hand in the fight. However, once they returned to the chess board, Sazhin used up too much time attacking Kraft's king. Thus by round eight Sazhin was forced to win by knockout or lose on the board. He failed to do so, and on returning to the chess board, Sazhin resigned the match.

2010

Chessboxing continued to grow in 2010 with events being held around Europe. In London, English Chessboxing founder Tim Woolgar won against heavyweight Hubert van Melik of Holland.

2011

2011 saw London emerge as a force in international Chessboxing. Svein Clouston won an inaugural Scottish middleweight title in Tufnell Park in March. London Chessboxing experienced success by defeating a Berlin select by two bouts to one at a Chessboxing challenge match in Germany. The Scala in Kings Cross became the first nightclub venue in England to host Chessboxing. At 900 strong crowd watched Hubert Van Melik defeat American Andrew McGregor in the 2nd round. This event also hosted the first recorded women's Chessboxing fight.

The Indian Chessboxing Organisation was founded in 2011 and staged its first event in Kolkata in November.

Nikolay Sazhin who had by now moved up to the Heavyweight division took on former Mixed Martial Arts fighter and experienced Chessboxer Andy 'The Rock' Costello in Siberia. Sazhin won a chess victory in front of his home supporters.

2012

Nikolay Sazhin faced Andy 'The Rock' Costello again, in March at the Scala in Kings Cross. Costello who held the white pieces opened with a Kings Indian Attack. However he failed to find an initiative and quickly fell into a passive position. Despite a determined effort by Costello who dominated the boxing rounds. Sazhin withstood the assault and a capacity crowd saw him win in the final round of chess. The evening also saw Mike Botteley winning a rematch against Chris 'The General' Levy, their second bout. German Tim Bendfeldt defeated Hungarian Atilla Por by TKO in their undercard match on the same bill.

July 2012 saw the first titled Chess Grandmaster compete in Chessboxing. Arik Braun took part in a Berlin event and emerged victorious.

Required chess skill

World-class chess-boxers must not only be experienced boxers, but must also be at least Class A strength as chess players. For example, Nikolai Sazhin has an Elo rating of around 1900, roughly corresponding to high Class A or low expert level, while European chess boxing champion Tihomir Atanassov Dovramadjiev is a FIDE Master with a rating over 2300 and has won multiple chess competitions. Grandmaster Arik Braun the strongest chess player to have competed in Chessboxing is rated 2557 FIDE.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• The official WCBO site
• The official Chess Boxing Club Berlin site
• Official UK site
• The official Siberian Chess Boxing Organisation site
• The official Chess Boxing Organisation of India site
• Chessboxing site
• Chessboxing video
• The official Great Britain Chessboxing Organisation site
• A review of chessboxing training classes in London
• A photographic account of London Chessboxing clubs matches since 2009.
• Interview with Iepe Rubingh