Chess Boxing
Chess boxing is a hybrid sport, having combined chess and boxing disciplines in alternating rounds. This was invented by French artist and filmmaker Enki Bilal in 1992 but it was only in 2003 when a real chess boxing event was organized by Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh, and in 2007 when the first world chess boxing championship was held. According to Rubingh, the reason why chess boxing was invented was that chess and boxing have many things in common. The first is that moving a pawn is similar to moving a jab. The knight in Chess is like a hook in boxing, and a rook in chess is a straight right in boxing. When you have the queen marching in, it is like a boxing knockout.
Sportsmen say that chess boxing already has a large following in such countries as Germany and England, Japan, France, Iceland, India, Netherlands and Russia and is still fast-growing. Chess boxing events already have been held in Los Angeles, California in the United States, Tokyo, Japan, Nantes, France, Reykjavik, Iceland, Calcutta, India, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. In India, the first national chess boxing championship was held at the AG Indoor Stadium in January 2013 as sanctioned by the Chess Boxing Organization of India (CBOI) and supported by the government. The London, England chess boxing, through training programs, provides the youth with opportunities to develop both their physical and mental strengths. It has already earned the reputation as one of the best and most exciting events in Europe. In Berlin, Germany, the first chess boxing world championship was held in 2007 among fighters who, the government believes, have both brawn and brain.
How is chess boxing played?
The basic idea behind it is combining the number one thinking sport and the number one fighting sport based on a structure and certain rules. Its full match consists of 11 rounds divided into six rounds of chess of four minutes each, and five rounds of boxing each having three minutes long. The match starts with a chess round followed by a boxing round, then by a chess round until the end of the full match. A one-minute break is imposed between the rounds to allow competitors to change their outfit or gear. A competitor is given only 12 minutes for all his moves in chess, and the time is measured by a chess clock provided for by the organizers. A competitor wins by (a) A knockout during a boxing round, (b) Achieving a checkmate against his opponent during the chess round, and (c) Resignation of an opponent during a chess round.
The sport has attracted more than 150 professional competitors from around the world, including famous Russian world chess champion Garry Kasparov who won a chess boxing bout over Ukrainian heavyweight boxer Vladimir Klitschko in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the U.S. Another Russian fighter, 19-year old math student Nikolaj Sazhin also won the light heavyweight world chess boxing championship in 2008. The sport has also earned praises from retired British-Canadian heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis, who supports the World Chess Boxing Organization (WCBO), governing body for the sports that promotes the sport as the biathlon or composite athletic contest of the 21st century.
Sportsmen say that chess boxing already has a large following in such countries as Germany and England, Japan, France, Iceland, India, Netherlands and Russia and is still fast-growing. Chess boxing events already have been held in Los Angeles, California in the United States, Tokyo, Japan, Nantes, France, Reykjavik, Iceland, Calcutta, India, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. In India, the first national chess boxing championship was held at the AG Indoor Stadium in January 2013 as sanctioned by the Chess Boxing Organization of India (CBOI) and supported by the government. The London, England chess boxing, through training programs, provides the youth with opportunities to develop both their physical and mental strengths. It has already earned the reputation as one of the best and most exciting events in Europe. In Berlin, Germany, the first chess boxing world championship was held in 2007 among fighters who, the government believes, have both brawn and brain.
How is chess boxing played?
The basic idea behind it is combining the number one thinking sport and the number one fighting sport based on a structure and certain rules. Its full match consists of 11 rounds divided into six rounds of chess of four minutes each, and five rounds of boxing each having three minutes long. The match starts with a chess round followed by a boxing round, then by a chess round until the end of the full match. A one-minute break is imposed between the rounds to allow competitors to change their outfit or gear. A competitor is given only 12 minutes for all his moves in chess, and the time is measured by a chess clock provided for by the organizers. A competitor wins by (a) A knockout during a boxing round, (b) Achieving a checkmate against his opponent during the chess round, and (c) Resignation of an opponent during a chess round.
The sport has attracted more than 150 professional competitors from around the world, including famous Russian world chess champion Garry Kasparov who won a chess boxing bout over Ukrainian heavyweight boxer Vladimir Klitschko in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the U.S. Another Russian fighter, 19-year old math student Nikolaj Sazhin also won the light heavyweight world chess boxing championship in 2008. The sport has also earned praises from retired British-Canadian heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis, who supports the World Chess Boxing Organization (WCBO), governing body for the sports that promotes the sport as the biathlon or composite athletic contest of the 21st century.