

However, Rubingh has been credited by a number of individuals for the modern version of the sport, which was inspired by Froid Equateur, the 1992 comic that was penned by artist Enki Bilal. Both of these brothers were avid players of chess and they were classed as amateur boxers as well. Though, unofficial reports have also stated that the sport was invented back in 1979 by brothers Stewart and James Robinson. Credit for the initial development of the sport is given to Iepe Rubingh, who is a performance artist and painter. This sport uses the two endurance extremes and craftily blends them together to figure out which participant will prevail in a combat of the mind and the body. This sport that is becoming more and more popular but what exactly is it?Ĭhess boxing is precisely what it claims - an integration of the intellectual components of chess with the physical challenges of boxing. Participants take part in alternate rounds that shift between chess and boxing. It artfully combines the mental demands of chess with the physical demands of boxing.
Chess boxing free#

Zoran's opponent, 37-year old former UN Peacekeeper Frank 'Anti Terror' Stoldt, was well prepared and controlled both the chess board and the boxing rounds. Zoran 'the Priest' Mijatovic played the Queen's Gambit. On April 21, 2006, about 400 people gathered in the Gloria Theatre, Cologne, to see two Chessboxing matches. On the left: reigning light heavyweight world champion Nikolay Sazhin from Russia. The 1st European Chess Boxing Championship took place in Berlin on 1 October 2005 when Tihomir Tigertad Titschko of Bulgaria defeated Andreas 'D'Schneider of Germany after the latter conceded defeat in the seventh round. The sport is governed by the World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO), whose motto is "Fighting is done in the ring and wars are waged on the board." The first world championship was held in Amsterdam in 2003 and was won by Iepe Rubingh himself.
Chess boxing movie#
This movie is likely an inspiration for the Wu-Tang Clan song Da Mystery of Chessboxin', from their first album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993). It does not feature chessboxing as understood in this article. In addition, there is a 1979 movie by director Joseph Kuo called " Ninja Checkmate" whose USA dubbed version was known as "Mystery of Chess Boxing". Rubingh claims that he had not known about it. It is not known whether Bilal was aware of the movie. He brought the concept to life in the spring of 2003.Ĭhess boxing was featured in the 1991 Finnish movie Uuno Turhapuro - herra Helsingin herra, where Uuno plays Blindfold Chess against one person using a hands-free telephone headset while boxing another person. Iepe Rubingh, a Dutch artist known under the name IEPE, whose fighters' name is 'Iepe the Joker', was inspired by Bilal's book. The concept was envisioned in 1992 by cartoonist Enki Bilal, and a match of Chess boxing was a major plot point of his graphic novel Froid-Équateur. At the second warning the contestant will be disqualified. If a contestant doesn't make a move in the chessround, he will be issued a warning by the referee. Competitors may win by knockout, checkmate, a judge's decision or if their opponent's twelve minutes of Chess time elapses.

The form of Chess played is " Speed Chess" in which each competitor has a total of twelve minutes for the whole game. Between rounds there is a 1-minute pause, during which competitors change their gear. A match between two opponents consists of up to eleven alternating rounds of Boxing and Chess sessions, starting with a four-minute Chess round followed by two minutes of boxing and so on.
