There's A Sport Where You Play Chess Then Punch Someone In The Face (With Vids)

CHESS-BOXING!

Yes, seriously.

Chess boxing, or chessboxing, is a hybrid fighting sport that combines two traditional sports, chess and boxing. The competitors fight in alternating rounds of chess and boxing. Chessboxing was invented by Dutch performance artist Iepe Rubingh. What was initially only thought to be an art performance quickly turned into a fully developed competitive sport.

Source:Wikipedia

You win by checkmate or knockout! Is that bad-ass or what!?
I've always loved chess, and a friend of mine is always talking about getting into boxing at the local club...
Coincidence? I think not...

Surprisingly, this new sport is actually gaining some considerable popularity.
Unsurprisingly, most of this popularity stems from those countries with a colorful history in both boxing and chess:

Chessboxing is particularly popular in Germany, Great Britain, India and Russia.

Source: Wikipedia again

And even most surprisinglyer, a search (or five) turned out NOT A WHISPER of this magical sport on our beloved ATS!



It's inventor Iepe Rubingh, (once a performance artist briefy jailed in Tokyo for disrupting traffic with a stunt, gained inspiration from a French comic book.
There's a ton of info on it's history and progress on the Kickboxing Kickstarter Page.
So you're probably not going to see Chessboxing at the next Olympics, but perhaps within the next couple decades.
As far as I'm concerned, that's like 50 years too late.

Remember that other obscure-yet-way-too-awesome-to-actually-be-real-but-totally-is sport, Ultimate Weapons Master?

What madness will they come up with next!?


And as a bonus, a spoonful of nostalgia I came across whilst researching:



STAY ASTONISHED
ADAM&EVIL

You haven't lived until you have played punch in the face chess.

Rook to D9, thwack, pow, zap. Living in a sixties bat cave paradise, playing the master tactical game of chess.

a reply to: ADAMandEVIL

You win by checkmate or knockout!

I guess the only way my opponent could win against me will be through knockout...

Suddenly I'm not so sure I should be good at chess.

That sounds like a sport Putin would excel at!

As a chess player I find it an interesting mix of brainpower and brutality.

Thx for sharing!



~meathead

a reply to: Cobaltic1978


Rook to D9 is not possiible in chess boxing...

...but it would be in OMEGA CHESS BOXING!

Black gets to i9, the white king wants to be on h7, controlling i8 so the rook can check on d9, forcing the king to j8

Omega Chess Wiki

In which case that is apparently a good move, so my hat's off for that

a reply to: ADAMandEVIL

Omega chess? That looks pretty cool!

a reply to: swanne

Ah, but there are many paths to victory! Consider the possibility of time-outs: a loss is incurred by the player whose chess clock runs out.
Or stalemate! (Not really a win but still it ain't losing!)

I wonder...

What would be the boxing equivalent of a stalemate?
Chessboxing FAQ mentions matches going to judge scoring if they're too drawn out.

Actually, there are a number of ways to win:

1 Checkmate.
2 Time penalty. Your opponent runs out of time on his or her chess clock.
3 KO
4 TKO
5 Disqualification – your opponent is guilty of cheating.
6 Points decision.
In the event of a drawn game (by stalemate or repetition of the position) the decision is made on boxing points scored. If a draw occurs at any point prior to the final round, there will be one more round of boxing to conclude the bout.

Source: Chessboxing FAQ

a reply to: swanne

Slightly off topic I know but what openings are your favorite when playing white and also playing as black.

Your post implied confidence, it made me curious.



respectfully,
~meathead

a reply to: Mike Stivic

I tend to open with a double fianchetto, and I follow with a complete deployement of one side's pieces (the one facing the enemy King after its castling), even if it means losing my pawns.



And you?

a reply to: ADAMandEVIL

Lol hehe, pretty clever though!

"Hey, this kid is really good at chess! He's got a lot of brains, let's give him brain damage."

Up next on espn.

Mma marching band!
Or
Show choir street fighting!

a reply to: swanne
In "fun" games I tend to use the goring gambit as white, it makes for lively games that do not tend to drag out.

In tournament play in my youth I played the Ruy Lopez.

As black I strive to steer the game into a modified Caro-Kann.

Respectfully,
~meathead

originally posted by: swanne
a reply to: Mike Stivic

I tend to open with a double fianchetto, and I follow with a complete deployement of one side's pieces (the one facing the enemy King after its castling), even if it means losing my pawns.

And you?

Block the center to neutralize the bishops and advance on the queenside

As white I like the Stonewall/Colle system. Sometimes I'll play the Polish (is it still called that?) for fun. For black, French Defense, Queens Gambit Declined, and the Benko Gambit.

a reply to: Mike Stivic

Göring gambit used to be a favourite of mine!

The only reason I've abandoned it is because moving so much pawns was slowing the deployment of my bishops and knights. But it's a pretty good deployment nonetheless, very classical and effective.

a reply to: VictorVonDoom

All very solid openings, but safe.

I used to be very concerned with winning,and played stodgy openings designed not to lose.

Getting older I enjoy the Gambits more and more, im either going to win or go down in flames but I damn sure enjoy the ride!

The benko is a delight though

Respectfully,
~meathead

a reply to: VictorVonDoom

advance on the queenside

Yes, that's the natural reaction - this is why I do my castling on the king side!

The enemy is forced to advance on the queenside, meanwhile my king is safely waiting at the kingside.

a reply to: Mike Stivic

There is an organized league with timed intervals of chess playing and boxing. The adrenaline makes it harder to make calculated moves when you sit down.

a reply to: ADAMandEVIL

Yeah, now you realise why we don't invite you into the inner echelons. Spoiler!!

a reply to: Mike Stivic

Yeah, my game has become very conservative. Tournament play does that to you. I used to enjoy wide open games like the Danish or King's Gambit; open up lines for attack and go for the jugular. But if your opponent knows they lines (they do!), they know when to return the material for a superior position. Gambit play is especially hard against computers.

I still play occasionally on my Novag Super Expert C. I avoid opening fireworks because the computer doesn't miss a trick with it's built-in opening library. I can't out-combo the machine, but I can use general middle-game principles to get a superior position. If I'm not at least even by the endgame I've lost. The Novag's endgame is brutal.