Da mystery of Chess Boxing

Chess and Boxing seemingly exist at opposite ends of the athletic spectrum. Correction – Chess and Boxing definitely exist at opposite ends of the athletic spectrum. The game of kings and the sweet science share more in common than one would think, though. Chess Boxing makes for an unexpected combination, but makes some sense when you think about it.

At their highest competitive levels, both Boxing and Chess are very technical and strategy intensive. Whether it is with knuckles or knights, both require meticulous probing of an opponent's weaknesses in order to create striking opportunities. Both require scrupulous discipline and a great deal of training.

Before the 1990s, Chess Boxing existed only in pop culture in the title of a Joseph Koo kung-fu film, made in 1979. In 1992, the same year as Wu-Tang Clan's debut album introduced the song "Da Mystery of Chess Boxing", French cartoonist Enki Bilal conceptualized the sport in the graphic novel Froid Equateur.

Dutch conceptual artist Iepe Rubingh is credited with being the sport's organizer, choosing to alternate rounds of Chess and Boxing instead of Bilal's narrative of a Boxing match followed by a Chess match. Rubingh is President of the World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO), based out of Berlin, Germany, where he also dons the roles of Fighter Management and Chess Boxing Development. In 2003 he claimed Chess Boxing's Middleweight belt at the first World Championships.

Under WCBO rules, a match consists of 11 rounds. It begins with four minutes of speed Chess (governed by timer clocks). Then the gloves come on, and the now-fighters go toe to toe in a standard three-minute Boxing round. Competitors get a one minute break following each Boxing sequence. Each player has 12 minutes of total move time for the Chess portion, which is set up in the actual ring. Players don protective ear wear during the Chess rounds to prevent spectator comments from interfering with play.

A competitor can win in either round format. In Boxing rounds, a pugilist can win by knock out or by referee decision. On the board, a player wins by check mate or if their opponent's allotted time runs out. If there's no winner after 11 rounds, the boxer with the higher point total wins. If the fighting portion is also a tie, black wins. The reason for this is that whoever plays with the white pieces in Chess has the first move, giving that side the advantage, all other things being equal. On a Chess side note, that is why opponents often play a series of matches alternating pieces in order to mitigate the benefit of having the first move. In any round, a fighter may retire from play to concede the loss.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Any good boxer with a little bit of Chess experience can likely hang in long enough on the board for a shot to clobber an opponent in the first fighting round. While it is safe to say Chess Boxers won't be challenging Vitali Klitschko or Manny Pacquaio any time soon, most would be considered at least respectable pugilists. As well, a participant must have an official chess rating of Class A (1800-1999) in order to be eligible. It is not stated which rating system is used as the standard, but given that most Chess federations use an Elo system or derivative thereof, Elo is the most likely benchmarking tool.

The beauty of the sport is that it needs not only the requisite skills for both components, but also the ability to switch between the two. It is hard enough to remember where your pieces are after a few minutes away from the board, let alone whilst sustaining head trauma.

Now it's just a matter of time before IBM develops a computer that will dominate the game, forcing Garry Kasparov to really hit the gym.