Chess boxing

Chessboxing is a hybrid that combines two traditional pastimes: chess and boxing. The competitors fight in alternating rounds of chess and boxing. Chessboxing was invented by French comic book artist Enki Bilal and adapted by Dutch performance artist Iepe Rubingh as an art performance[1][2] and has subsequently grown into a competitive sport.[3] Chessboxing is particularly popular in Germany, the United Kingdom, India, and Russia.

A chess boxing match in Berlin, 2008

History

Chessboxing was invented by Dutch performance artist Iepe Rubingh.[1][2] Rubingh's idea to create a new sport fusing the two disciplines, chess and boxing,[4] originates from the 1992 comic Froid Équateur—written by French comic book artist Enki Bilal that portrays a chessboxing world championship. In the comic book version, however, the opponents fight an entire boxing match before they face each other in a game of chess. Finding this to be impractical, Rubingh developed the idea further until it turned into the competitive sport that chessboxing is today with alternating rounds of chess and boxing and a detailed set of rules and regulations.[5]

An earlier version of combining chess and boxing was said to have taken place in a boxing club outside London in the late 1970s. The Robinson brothers were in the habit of playing a round of chess against one another after a training session at their boxing club. However, no direct correlation can be made between the Robinson brothers' chess playing and chessboxing.[6][7] The same goes for the Kung-Fu movie Mystery of Chessboxing (1979) as well as the Wu-Tang Clan's song "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" (1993).

The early years (2003)

The first chessboxing competition took place in Berlin in 2003. That same year, the first world championship fight was held in Amsterdam in cooperation with the Dutch Boxing Association as well as the Dutch Chess Federation and under the auspices of the World Chess Boxing Organization (WCBO) that was founded in Berlin shortly before. Dutch middleweight fighters Iepe Rubingh and Jean Louis Veenstra faced each other in the ring. After his opponent exceeded the chess time limit, Rubingh won the fight in the 11th round going down in the history books as the first-ever World Chess Boxing Champion. The same goes for the Chess Boxing Club Berlin, created in the following year (2004), that is the first of its kind making Berlin the birthplace of chessboxing.[8]

2005–2008: the first champions
A picture of a chess round in a chess boxing match in 2008.

Two years after the first world championship, the first European Chess Boxing Championship took place in Berlin on October 1, 2005. Present-day chessboxing commentator Andreas Dilschneider was defeated by Tihomir Atanassov Dovramadjiev when he resigned in the 7th round (chess), crowning the latter by being the first European Chess Boxing Champion.[9] In 2006, more than 800 spectators filled the Gloria Theatre in Cologne for the world championship qualification fight between Zoran Mijatovic and Frank Stoldt. The 36-year-old Frank Stoldt, who was a former UN-Peacekeeper in Kosovo and Afghanistan, won when his opponent resigned in chess in the 7th round. After qualifying himself to fight for the title in 2006, Frank Stoldt went up against the American David Depto in November 2007 in Berlin to fight for the first world championship title in the light heavyweight division. More than 800 tickets were sold for the event at the Tape Club in Berlin, making it the biggest chessboxing title fight to that date. Frank Stoldt defeated Depto in the 7th round and thereby cemented Berlin's status as the leading city in the chessboxing world becoming the first German world champion.[10]

2008–2011: the chessboxing family grows

Chessboxing first received credit from the International Chess Federation FIDE, in April 2008; its president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, took part in a chessboxing demo fight in Elista.[11] At the same time, the chessboxing community began to grow globally at an even faster rate. In 2008, chessboxing clubs were founded in London and Krasnoyarsk. Created in 2009, the Los Angeles Chessboxing Club was the first of its kind in the United States and was directly followed by the New York Chessboxing Club in 2010. The Boxer in Munich also opened in 2010 and offers chessboxing training. In addition to the WCBO's initially European and then later world championships taking place worldwide, the scene at the London Chessboxing Club grew where chessboxing events take place on a regular basis. In 2011, the first international club matchup took place with Berlin and London in the ring—London came out the winner with 2:1 won bouts.[12]

2011–2014: chess boxing turns professional and goes worldwide

In 2011, the WCBO and with it the global chessboxing community made the biggest leap forward in its development to date with the foundation of the Chessboxing Organisation of India and its expansion in Asia, including also Chessboxing China and the Chessboxing Organisation of Iran which was founded in 2012. Furthermore, the third chessboxing organization in the United States, USA Chessboxing, was founded in 2011 and the European movement was being reinforced by the foundation of the Italian Chessboxing Federation in 2012. What's more, the professionalization of chessboxing started to take shape in the second decade of the 21st century. In addition to the WCBO that became a registered association under German law in 2014, the Chess Boxing Global Marketing CBGM GmbH—called Chess Boxing Global, CBG—was founded, that as of May 2013, is responsible for organizing all of the professional chessboxing fights worldwide and above all, for the organization of the Chess Boxing World Championships.

The Chess Boxing Organisation India was founded in 2011 by kickboxing official and former Indian kickboxing and karate champion Montu Das. With this, the growth of chessboxing in Asia gained momentum with the first Chess Boxing Organisation in Western Asia already being built in the following year by another experienced official in the kickboxing world: Fereydoun Pouya started the Chess Boxing Organisation Iran.

At the same time, the process of turning chessboxing professionals reached a milestone: The 2013 World Championship in Moscow was the first chessboxing event organized and marketed by Chess Boxing Global. With three world championship fights in one night, more than 1200 spectators and a standard of fighting never seen before, the first CBG event set new standards in the history of chessboxing with Leonid Chernobaev leading the way. He has been able to make a name for himself with more than 15 years of chess playing experience and in the boxing world, as Marco Huck's and Yoan Pablo Hernández' sparring partner and having fought over 200 amateur bouts. He won the light heavyweight title against Indian fighter Shailesh Tripathi after a technical knockout in the 8th round (boxing). Sven Rooch secured his title in the middleweight class division-winning against Jonatan Rodriguez Vega after the Spaniard resigned in the 7th round (chess) and Russian Nikolay Sazhin won the heavyweight title against Gianluca Sirci by checkmate. Thus, Sazhin (Heavyweight), Chernobaev (Light heavyweight) and Rooch (Middleweight) would all go down in Chess Boxing history as the first Chess Boxing Global World Champions. They are also the first professional world champions in chessboxing ever.[13]

In terms of its development into a mass sport, there was much success in 2013 and early 2014 for the chessboxing world. There were more competitors in the second and third Indian Championships in summer 2013 and early 2014 than in any chessboxing events ever before, with more than 245 fighters varying in both age and weight class, taking place in Salem and Jodhpur, respectively.[14] Furthermore, the chessboxing community in London—under the command of London Chessboxing and the WCBA—has continued to grow constantly since 2011 and by now stages chessboxing events for 800 or more spectators on a regular basis 4–5 times a year at the Scala, King's Cross.

Late 2014 also saw Finnish Chessboxing Club being founded in Helsinki by five founding members. Since 2013, actively developing Moscow Chess Boxing club MCBF

2015 to present: chessboxing today

Chessboxing events in 2015 were produced by London Chessboxing under the WCBA—two events at Scala, Kings Cross in London. The second event in June 2015, The Grandmaster Bash!, saw the British, European and IBF light welterweight world champion Terry Marsh fight and defeat Dymer Agasaryan. Terry Marsh (57) is the first professional boxer to compete in Chessboxing[15][16] and has competed in 3 fights since June 2014 in London and still remains unbeaten in his career. The fight was one of the most compelling to watch as it went the distance, normal time ending in draw. After a deciding round of boxing Terry Marsh was awarded victory on points.

Chessboxing has also become more popular among young, poor women in India where the sport has been seen as an alternative to traditional roles.[17]

Rules

A chessboxing fight consists of 11 rounds, 6 rounds of chess and 5 rounds of boxing, and a victory in either chess or boxing wins and ends the entire contest. Chess and boxing rounds alternate, and a full-distance contest begins and ends with a round of chess. Each round lasts three minutes, regardless of whether it involves chess or boxing. A single chess game is played over the six chess rounds. These total 18 minutes; each player is subject to a time control of 9 minutes with no increment to make all their moves (blitz chess). After each chess round, the exact setup is digitally recorded and then repositioned before the following chess round. The breaks between the chess and boxing rounds usually last 60 seconds. The duration of the rounds and overall fight time in amateur chessboxing fights can change to some degree, as in for example youth tournaments and exhibition fights.

Decisions

A chessboxing match can end by any of the following:

  • Victory by knockout or technical knockout in boxing
  • Victory by checkmate in chess
  • Loss due to exceeding the chess game's time control
  • Victory due to disqualification of his or her opponent by the referee e.g. due to inactivity due to overextended playing time (chess or boxing rounds following multiple warnings).
    • This rule prevents a player who is in an obviously lost position in one arena from stalling in order to attempt to win in the other
  • Loss by resignation (chess or boxing rounds)

In the case that neither of the chessboxers win in regulation time and the chess game ends in a draw, the fighter who is ahead on boxing points wins the overall bout. In case the scoreboard is also tied, the fighter that used the black chess pieces will be named the winner (due to the first-move advantage in chess). This has not yet occurred in practice.

Weight classes

Like boxing, chessboxers are divided into weight classes. Currently, the following apply to professional chessboxing events of Chess Boxing Global (as of October 2014):

Men (17 years+)
  • Lightweight: max. 154.324 lbs (70 kg)
  • Middleweight: max. 176.37 lbs (80 kg)
  • Light heavyweight: max. 198.416 lbs (90 kg)
  • Heavyweight: 198.416+ lbs (90+ kg)[18]

Women (17 years+)
  • Lightweight: max. 121.254 lbs (55 kg)
  • Middleweight: max. 143.3 lbs (65 kg)
  • Light heavyweight: max. 165.347 lbs (75 kg)
  • Heavyweight: 165.347+ lbs (75+ kg)

For amateur and youth chessboxing bouts under the flag of the WCBO weight classes are graduated in 5-kilo-steps. In exception event hosts can classify into 10-kilo-steps.

Particular requirements and training

A chess boxer must have strong skills in both chess and boxing in order to be permitted to compete in a professional chess boxing fight. The current minimum requirements to fight in a Chess Boxing Global event include an Elo rating of 1600 and a record of at least 50 amateur bouts fought in boxing or another similar martial art. One deciding factor in chess boxing is that the fighters have to mainly train in speed chess; the skills required by speed chess are different from those for chess using classical time controls. However, chess boxing is not only the ability to master both sports but above all, being able to withstand the constant switch from a full contact sport to a thinking sport, round after round. After three minutes of boxing, pulses are racing, yet the opponents have to face each other at the chessboard barely having taken a break, and have to then perform calmly and think tactically. This switch becomes increasingly hard for the athletes as the fight goes on and they become tired.

In order to train these skills, a specialised chess boxing training is used, in which physical interval training forms are combined with blitz or speed chess games. Thereby the fighters adapt the rhythm of a chessboxing bout. They will use exercises like "track chess" and "stair chess" in which training partners will play an 18-minute game of speed chess over six rounds with intensive running exercises in between, such as 400-meter sprints or stair sprints. Other common methods of training combine speed chess games with strength exercises such as push-ups. The classic chess boxing training is box sparring combined with a game of speed chess.

Champions
Further information: List of Chess boxing champions

Between 2003–2013, the chessboxing world championships were organised by the WCBO. As of 2013, they take the form of professional events under the auspices of Chess Boxing Global.

WCBO (2003–2012)

World champions

European champions

CBG (starting 2013)
  • 2013: Nikolay Sazhin  Russia – Heavyweight, in Moscow against Gianluca Sirci  Italy
  • 2013: Leonid Chernobaev  Belarus – Light heavyweight, in Moscow against Shaliesh Tripathi  India
  • 2013: Sven Rooch  Germany – Middleweight, in Moscow against Jonathan Rodriguez Vega  Spain

Major organizations

World Chess Boxing Organisation

The World Chess Boxing Organisation e.V. (WCBO) is the leading umbrella organisation for international amateur chessboxing. It is based in Berlin, Germany and legally recognized as a non-profit organisation by the German Government. Iepe Rubingh founded the World Chess Boxing Organisation directly after the first chessboxing fight in 2003. Its goal was, and still is, to establish the WCBO as the worldwide organisation for the sport of chessboxing. The WCBO's aim is to collect and link all of the active chessboxing clubs worldwide under one roof. It was legally recognised as a registered association by Berlin's district court in 2014. The WCBO was the official organizer of the chessboxing world championships until it recognised Chess Boxing Global, in accordance with its statute, as the exclusive marketing agent for professional chessboxing fights, in 2013. Since then, the WCBO has been focusing on the organisation of the mass sport chessboxing and its further development. Chessboxing inventor and WCBO founder Iepe Rubingh, is also the current chairman. The first honorary member became Comic book artist Enki Bilal, whose comic provided the inspiration behind the invention of chessboxing.

WCBO member associations
  • Chess Boxing Club Berlin (CBCB)
  • Chess Boxing Organisation of India (CBOI)
  • Chess Boxing Organisation of Iran (CBOIR)
  • Italian Chess Boxing Federation (FISP)
  • China Chessboxing (CBCN)
  • USA Chessboxing
  • Russian Chess Boxing Organisation
  • Mexican Chess Boxing Organisation
  • Spain chess boxing

World Chess Boxing Association

The World Chessboxing Association (WCBA) is a legally recognized umbrella organisation for chessboxing. It was founded in 2013 and is based in London, England. English heavyweight chessboxing champion, Tim Woolgar, is its current president. The World Chessboxing Association originated from the London Chessboxing Club after having separated from the World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO). It was founded by Tim Woolgar in 2013 in order to accelerate the development of chessboxing. WBCO champions are also managed and recognised by the WCBA.

WCBA members
  • UK Chessboxing Association
  • Russian Chessboxing Organisation
  • Italian Chessboxing Federation
  • Spanish Chessboxing Association

London Chessboxing

London Chessboxing is a brand under which the sport of chessboxing has been promoted since 2008[24] in London, United Kingdom. Although the sport has been practiced in London since 1978,[25][26] the home of Chessboxing in London today is Islington Boxing Club[27][28] where London Chessboxing host regular training sessions.

The first ever Chessboxing event hosted in the UK under the brand was at Bethnal Green Working Men's club in Hackney by Tim Woolgar on the 15th of August 2008. Other notable venues include Chelsea Old Town Hall,[29][30] The Grange Hotel in St Pauls[31] and the Royal Albert Hall.[32][33] Presently their events are hosted at Scala, King's Cross, London,[34] York Hall, London and The Dome, in Tuffnell Park. The events are also broadcast on the livestreaming service Twitch.

Chess Boxing Global

Chess Boxing Global (CBG) is a marketing agency responsible for professional chessboxing fights and all commercial activities affiliated with the sport of chessboxing. It is officially the only marketing agency for professional chessboxing recognised by the WCBO and takes on assignments such as organizing world championships for and marketing the profiles of professional athletes. Shortly after being founded by Iepe Rubingh in Berlin in 2013, CBG gained attention thanks to Enki Bilal auctioning off one of his paintings in Paris on February 23, 2013. The auctioned painting, that shows an artistic depiction of a chessboxer, was able to generate 174,000 Euro for CBG. The first world championship under the auspices of Chess Boxing Global took place in Moskow, Russia in 2013 before 1200 spectators. Professional athletes from all over the world fight each other under the slogan, "A quest for the smartest and toughest man on the planet."[35]

  • The season 5 episode of Elementary titled "The Ballad of Lady Francis", Holmes shows the virtues of Chess boxing as a way to train oneself to quickly shift mindset from rapid action to calm, deliberate control.
  • The Eclipse Phase sourcebook "Rimward" features chess boxing as a popular sport in one of the habitats on Titan.

Chess Boxing and Science

The concept of Chess Boxing sport is of great interest to science seeking to optimize and increase the physical and psychological characteristics of athletes through the application of new methods and approaches to increase human strength, biomechanical and intellectual abilities, and other. [36][37][38][39][40][41] [42][43][44][45][46][47] [48][49]

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See also

References
  1. "ESPN.com - E-Ticket: By Hook Or By Rook". go.com. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  2. Stephen Moss. "Wanna piece of this?". the Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  3. Justus Bender: Königsdisziplin, In: Die Zeit. Nr. 39, 22. September 2005, ISSN 0044-2070
  4. Pathade, Mahesh. "Chess Boxing : Who brought chess boxing to India?". Kheliyad. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  5. Ada Calhoun: Chess-Boxing Hits It Big, Time, 2008-07-13
  6. Mark Chandler: Robinson Brothers
  7. Pathade, Mahesh. "Chess Boxing : what is chessboxing- Part- 1". Kheliyad. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  8. WCBO: Pressemitteilung – Battle of the Cities
  9. Andreas Dilschneider: "Was war da Los Herr Dilschneider?", In Der Spiegel, 42/2005
  10. Berliner Morgenpost: Frank Stoldt – Weltmeister in Schachboxen
  11. FIDE: Kirsan as a Chessboxer
  12. Arno Nickel: London schlägt Berlin
  13. Nik Afanasjew: Knockout odor Matt
  14. Shamik Bag: Chess boxing catching on in India
  15. "Marsh happy to roll with the punches". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  16. "Ex-world champ boxer is back in the ring for new sport of chessboxing". The Standard. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  17. Tarafdar, Swati (May 10, 2018). "Chess Boxing Offers a Way Out of Poverty for Young Women in India". News Deeply: Women's Advancement Deeply. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  18. Chess Boxing Global: CBG Rules Archived 2016-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
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  21. Chessbase: Stoldt vs. Sazhin
  22. Iepe.net: Sazhin vs. Chernobaev
  23. Spiegel: Dilschneider Teasertext
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  28. "Islington Boxing Club Host to Chessboxing". Islington Boxing Club. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  29. "Chesboxing Charity Fundraiser at Chelsea Old Town Hall". Yellobric. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  30. "Yellobric Chessboxing Ball, Chelsea Old Town Hall". London Randon. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
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  35. Chess Boxing Global: About Archived 2016-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  36. "Associate Professor Ovchinnikov Yu.D., student Khorkova LV and teacher Sycheva NM Physical culture, sports and health. MENTAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCHOOLCHILDREN ON THE LESSONS OF PHYSICAL CULTURE AT COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL. 2017. ISSN 2312-072X" (PDF). 2017.
  37. "Tsaryova G.A., Scientific adviser - Voronin A.V., senior. teacher. FGBOU VO Ulyanovsk GAU, HYBRID SPORTS. Physical culture and sports, health improvement of students. UDC 796. 2018" (PDF). 2018.
  38. "English in Mind Student's Book 4, Second Edition. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-18446-5" (PDF).
  39. "Ovchinnikov Yuri Dmitrievich, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor; Khorkova Lyubov Vladimirovna, student. Chess plus boxing - resulting Chessboxing, Kuban State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism. Preschool pedagogy issues. 2016. ISSN 2410-7344". 2016.
  40. "Associate Professor Ovchinnikov Jurij Dmitrievich and student Horkova Ljubov Vladimirovna. BIOMECHANICS IN PROJECT TECHNOLOGIES - POPULARIZATION OF NEW SPORTS. PEDAGOGICAL SCIENCES. Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education Kuban State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism, Krasnodar city. MODERN INNOVATION No. 3 (5). 2016". 2016.
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  44. "Tukova Т.V. «TECHNOGENIC WAVE» IN THE VERBAL WORLD. ISSN 2312-2919" (PDF). 2017.
  45. "Associate Professor Ovchinnikov Yu.D. and Khorkova L.V., Student. PROBLEM OF SELF-CHECKING AND RESTORATION OF THE PHYSICAL STATE AFTER THE TRAININGS AT WOMEN BOXERS. SUCCESSES OF MODERN SCIENCE AND EDUCATION Volume 2, No. 2, 2017. Kuban State University of Physical Education, Sport and Tourism. ISSN 2412-9631" (PDF). 2017.
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