Chess Boxing Growing in Popularity

When I was younger, I remember watching boxing matches on TV. Boxing was king. The Heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali, was so popular that he had his own Saturday morning cartoon. He was probably one of the most famous men alive during those years. Today, I can't tell you who the heavyweight champion is. In the heyday of boxing, I was just a kid. Being somewhat small for my age, I was better equipped for chess. Fortunately, chess was also much more popular back in those days. Everybody knew Bobby Fischer, the American champion. Of course, Muhammad Ali would have trounced Bobby Fischer if he ever put on the gloves to try his hand at boxing. Likewise, Muhammad Ali would have been no match for Bobby Fischer at the chess table. Well, today both boxing and chess are gaining popularity again, but with a twist: chess boxing.

What is Chess Boxing?

In chess boxing, competitors climb into the boxing ring for as many as eleven rounds of non-stop action. The action in question alternates round by round between speed chess and boxing. Competitors begin with a round of chess. Each player has only 12 minutes of time allotted for the entire game. This really speeds up the action on the chess board and eliminates long pauses that might bring the action level down. If a competitor tries to delay things on the chess board and rely on his boxing skills, he can be disqualified and lose the chess boxing match. Two chess rounds in a row without making a move is grounds for immediate disqualification from the entire chess boxing match.

How do you Win Chess Boxing?

The chess boxing match can be won by a knockout, a checkmate, or by the decision of the judges. Chess is ordinarily a quiet contemplative affair, but a recent chess boxing title match, as reported by the World Chess Boxing Organization, highlights the difference. Frank Stoldt, the reigning champion at the time, was in control on the chess board and it looked like only a matter of time before he would checkmate his opponent, 19 year old Nikolay Sazhin. In the second round of the chess boxing match, Sazhin connected with a right to the chin of the older Stoldt. Stoldt was given a standing eight count. The next chess round passed without event as did the fourth round, a boxing round. Then suddenly, things changed. Stoldt was lured into an obvious trap and lost his queen, the most powerful piece on the board. Seeing what he had done, Stoldt immediately resigned from the game, losing the chess boxing match and the World Chess Boxing Championship. It seems likely that if he hadn't been nearly knocked out only minutes before his chess game might have been a little sharper.

Who Would be Better at Chess Boxing?

Chess boxing is a new sport with the first organized matches taking place in 2003. The events are sanctioned by the World Chess Boxing Organization (WCBO), which is based in Germany. Great Britain and Bulgaria now boast chess boxing organizations as well. With the rising popularity of chess boxing, it's only a matter of time before we hear kids asking "Who do you think would win in a chess boxing match, Bill Gates or Mike Tyson?"