BBN take a look at the bizarre phenomenon that is Chess Boxing
Chess and boxing are competitive past-times which both have long and eventful histories.
Records suggest that chess originates somewhere in Asia, roughly 1500 years ago. Boxing dates back even further, with bouts of hand-to-hand combat fought in Greece. It was first introduced to the Olympic games in 688BC. Similar to the modern sport, two fighters would test their strength against each other, minus the gloves.
Boxing and chess couldn’t be further apart in their respective goals and measures of success. There’s no doubt that if the Greeks had played chess, they would never have considered such an absurd combination. After all, boxing is a measure of physical strength and stamina. Both fighters stand toe to toe for a pre-determined number of rounds to see who comes out on top. On the other hand, victory in chess is determined by a player’s mental power and strategic capabilities, with games sometimes stretching over days.
This is not to say that there are no similarities between chess and boxing. The comparisons may be small, but it’s enough to make the idea of chess boxing not completely insane. For example, both chess and boxing pit two people against each other in a test of skill. Both can end in a draw and in a competitive environment people usually face someone of equal merit. In boxing this is determined by weight class and ranking, ensuring that one fighter cannot easily overpower the other. In chess there is also a ranking system climbing all the way to grandmaster, making sure that the best players compete against their peers.
Perhaps these similarities make chess boxing seem a more viable idea, but it is still quite unbelievable that such a bizarre sport would start to gain traction. It raises the question of what other crazy combinations we could get away with like boxing and poker, or combining chess with the endless number of sports out there. It’s the bizarre contrast between chess and boxing that makes their amalgamation so appealing. A chess boxer is supposed to epitomize a well-rounded individual, someone who can stand their ground in a fight and back up that strength with a keen mind. Imagine Anthony Joshua if he had the snap-decision strategy of Magnus Carlsen. The sight of that would match the best fights that Joshua has to offer.
The Rules
Not only does a chess boxer need to strategize and fight, but they must also do both these things in immediate succession. The structure of chess boxing means that a competitor must compete in six rounds of chess, with rounds of boxing interspersed in-between. The match begins with a four-minute round of chess, followed by a minute interval, followed by a three-minute round of boxing. The cycle is then repeated. The rules of the sport are surprisingly simple. The boxing part follows normal professional standards, with a points-based system including knockouts. It’s worth mentioning that the emphasis of the sport is boxing. Unless a player wins the chess game in five rounds, which is a rare occurrence, the victory goes to the highest point-scorer in the boxing match.
The creative spark of chess boxing was a fictional match in a comic book by French cartoonist Enki Bilal. The idea continued to be referred to in mainstream media, such as in the Wu Tang Clan song ‘Da Mystery of Chessboxin’.’ It wasn’t until 2003 that the World Chess Boxing Organization held the first world championship in Amsterdam. Iepe Rubingh, the founder of the sport, was its first world champion. He cites Bilal’s comic book as the direct inspiration for legitimizing the sport.
The sport currently holds competitions for the titles of Light Heavyweight and Middleweight World Champion. The current Light Heavyweight champion is Russian Nikolay Sazhin, and his Middleweight counterpart is Sean Mooney. Both fighters exemplify the concept of brains and brawn combined and a match of top-tier chess boxing is truly a sight to behold. It’s hard to explain, but it just works.