Mind Over Matter

Once again nothing left unturned for strange sports that someone actually thought of, them somehow managed to implement.

If you like playing chess here’s a new twist on the sport that many masters would cringe at, never mind taking a liking to playing.

This is one that is meant to be played by Adults only so as no one gets the idea it’s fit to be played for boy’s or girls and just maybe good buddy Don Andrews could be the ring announcer?

This sport is known as a hybrid fighting sport that combines both of the two traditional sports – Boxing and Chess.

All of the competitors fight in alternating rounds of chess and boxing and it should be noted that the art of Chess-boxing was invented by Dutch performance artist named Iepe Rubingh.

What was initially only thought to be an art performance quickly turned into a fully developed competitive sport^.

Chess-boxing is particularly popular in Germany, Great Britain, India and Russia.

An earlier version of combining chess and boxing was said to have taken place in a boxing club outside of 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 chess-boxing

It is reported that the first chess-boxing competition took place in Berlin in 2003 and the same year saw the first world championship fight.

This was held in Amsterdam in full co-operation with the Dutch Boxing Association as well as the Dutch Chess Federation.

So the name may not be original, but chess boxing is a singular sport that demands brains and brawn like no other athletic competition.

How it actually works:

A chess-boxing fight consists of 11 rounds, 6 rounds of chess and 5 rounds of boxing and Chess and Boxing rounds alternate, each beginning and ending with a chess match.

Each round lasts three minutes, regardless of whether it involves chess or boxing.

The total amount of chess playing time is 18 minutes, making it 9 minutes each player.

After each chess round, the exact setup is digitally recorded and then repositioned before the following chess round.

All of the possible breaks in between the chess and boxing rounds usually last only 60 seconds in duration, so no real time to rest.

The duration of the rounds and overall fight time in amateur chess-boxing fights can change to some degree, as in for example youth tournaments and exhibition fights.

Competitors can win by winning the chess game, by knocking out an opponent or by judges’ decision at the end.