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Chess boxing is a hybrid sport that is a combination of chess and boxing; played in alternate rounds. This sport is gaining popularity in Germany, UK, India, and Russia.

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This sport was said to have been developed by performance artist Lepe Rubingh in 2003, though other reports state that the pioneers were amateur boxers and chess playing brothers James and Stewart Robinson of South London. It has also been reported that it gains its inspiration from a graphic novel called, Froid Équateur.

The participants in chess boxing must have skills in both sports; they can with a game either way. A full chess-boxing match has eleven rounds, with six rounds of chess, five rounds of boxing and a 1-minute break each round. The bouts start and end in chess play. The chess can last up to three or four minutes, the boxing match can last up to three minutes. The participants only have 12 minutes to use all of their chess moves.

Chess boxing articipants can win during a boxing round by knocking out the opponent or by calls of the referee. The participant can also win by achieving a checkmate, or if the opponent runs out of time. The participants wear headphones during the chess rounds to block out distractions.

There is even a World Chess Boxing Organization, whose motto is: “Fighting is done in the ring and wars are waged on the board”.

See a video about Chessboxing

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Similar Sports

• Boxing sports
• Chess — a strategy board game played by two players on a checkered gameboard with 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid.

Related Pages

• About Mind Sports
• About Hybrid Sports
• A video about Chessboxing
• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports