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(taken 4-18-09)
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A chess boxing match in
Berlin, 2008
Chess boxing is a hybrid
sport which combines the sport of
boxing with games of
chess in alternating rounds. Chess boxing fights
have been organized since early 2003. The sport was
started when Dutch artist
Iepe Rubingh, inspired by fictional descriptions of
the sport in the writing of
Enki Bilal, organized actual matches. The sport has
become increasingly popular since then.[1]
To succeed players must be both skilled chess players
and skilled boxers.
Structure and
rules
A match between two opponents consists
of up to eleven alternating rounds of
boxing and
chess sessions, starting with a four-minute chess
round followed by three minutes of boxing and so on.[1]
Between rounds there is a one minute pause, during which
competitors change their gear. The form of chess played
is
speed chess in which each competitor has a total of
twelve minutes for the whole game. Competitors may win
by
knockout,
checkmate, a judge's decision or if their opponent's
twelve minutes of chess time elapses.[1]
If a contestant does not make a move in the chessround,
he will be issued a warning by the referee and he must
then make a move within the next 10 seconds.[2]
Warnings may eventually result in disqualification.
History
The concept was envisioned in 1992 by
cartoonist
Enki Bilal, and a match of chess boxing was a major
plot point of his
graphic novel
Froid Équateur.[1]
Iepe Rubingh, a
Dutch artist, was inspired by Bilal's book and
brought the concept to life in the spring of 2001,
fighting under the name, 'Iepe the Joker'.[1]
Rubingh decided that the method of play described in the
book, a boxing match followed by a chess match, was
impractical. Rubingh instead instituted alternating
rounds of chess and boxing.[3]
Chess boxing was featured in the 1991
Finnish movie
Uuno Turhapuro - herra Helsingin herra, where
Uuno plays
blindfold chess against one person using a
hands-free telephone headset while boxing another
person. It is not known whether Bilal was aware of the
movie. In addition, there is a 1979 movie by director
Joseph Kuo called "Ninja
Checkmate" whose
USA dubbed version was known as "Mystery of Chess
Boxing". It does not feature chessboxing as understood
in this article. This movie is likely an inspiration for
the
Wu-Tang Clan song "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" from
their first album
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993). Wu-Tang
Clan producer
RZA is a fan and advocate of the sport.[1]
The sport is now governed by the
World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO), whose motto
is "Fighting is done in the ring and wars are waged on
the board." The first world championship was held in
Amsterdam in 2003 and was won by Iepe Rubingh
himself.[4]
The First European Chess Boxing Championship took place
in
Berlin on October 1, 2005 when
Tihomir Atanassov Dovramadjiev of
Bulgaria defeated
Andreas 'D'Schneider of Germany after the latter
conceded defeat in the seventh round.
On the left: reigning light
heavyweight world champion Nikolay Sazhin
from Russia.
On April 21, 2006, about 400 people
gathered in the Gloria Theatre,
Cologne, to see two chessboxing matches. Zoran 'the
Priest' Mijatovic played the
Queen's Gambit. Zoran's opponent, 37-year old former
UN Peacekeeper Frank 'Anti Terror' Stoldt, was well
prepared and controlled both the chess board and the
boxing rounds.[5]
In the seventh round (a chess round) Mijatovic was three
moves away from being checkmated, so he resigned.[5][6]
In April 2008, the World Chess
Federation
FIDE posted a video on its website in which its
president
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov played a friendly chess boxing
match in
Elista.[7]
Also in April 2008 the UK's first Chess Boxing club was
launched in London by Great Britain Chess Boxing
Organisation founder
Tim Woolgar.
In July 2008 in Berlin a 19-year old
Russian mathematics student
Nikolai Sazhin won the title of "World Champion" in
chess boxing by defeating Frank Stoldt.[8][9][10]
Stoldt resigned in the 5th round after losing his queen.[9]
Required
chess skill
World-class chess-boxers are not just
good boxers but are skilled chess players as well.[11]
For example, Sazhin has an
Elo rating of around 1900 while European chess
boxing champion
Tihomir Atanassov Dovramadjiev is a
FIDE Master with a rating over 2300 and has won
multiple chess competitions.[11][12]
References
-
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Calhoun, Ada (2008-07-10).
"Chess-Boxing Hits it Big". Time Magazine.
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1821639,00.html.
Retrieved on 2008-07-13.
-
^
"What is ChessBoxing?". London ChessBoxing.
http://www.londonchessboxing.com/about.html.
Retrieved on 2008-07-18.
-
^
McGroarty, Patrick (2008-07-17).
"New sport combines boxing and chess".
Associated Press.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hRW0gsSHajHY1eO0jrCF3RQGufrAD91V3HBO1.
Retrieved on 2008-07-18.
-
^
"Chess Boxing World Championship". Chessbase.
2003-12-05.
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1348.
Retrieved on 2008-07-17.
-
^
a
b
Mahoney, Donny. "Da
Mystery of Schachboxen:Ringside at the Chess
Fights". Mongrel (21).
http://www.mongrel.ie/issue21/may06pp28.php.
Retrieved on 2008-07-15.
-
^
"Special:Chess Boxing". SportsCenter.
ESPN. 2007-05-07.
-
^
"Kirsan Ilyumzhinov As A Chess Boxer!".
FIDE. 2008-07-18.
http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/2-articles/1327-fide-videos.
Retrieved on 2008-07-18.
-
^
Bouvier, Arnaud (2008-07-07).
"Chess boxers slug it out". Melbourne,
Australia: The Age.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23979955-23109,00.html.
Retrieved on 2008-07-18.
-
^
a
b
"Nikolay Sazhin is the New World Champion".
World Chess Boxing Organisation (press release).
http://site.wcbo.org/content/e7/index_en.html.
Retrieved on 2008-07-13.
-
^
"Chessboxing World Championship 2008 in Berlin".
ChessBase (press release). 2008-07-03.
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4744.
Retrieved on 2008-07-13.
-
^
a
b
Chalk, Andy (2008-07-07).
"World Chess Boxing Champion Crowned". The
Escapist.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/84863-World-Chess-Boxing-Champion-Crowned.
Retrieved on 2008-07-21.
-
^
"Chessboxing on ESPN, Playboy and Maxim".
ChessBase. 2006-06-27.
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3208.
Retrieved on 2008-07-21.
External
links