FanPost

3/4 Night OT: The Obscure Sport Edition




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Chess boxing is a hybrid sport that combines chess with boxing in alternating rounds. The sport was invented by French artist and filmmaker Enki Bilal in one of his comic book Froid Équateur in 1992. The first real event of chess-boxing was organized by Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh in 2003. Chess boxing is a fast growing sport,[1] with large followings in Berlin and London, where most events take place. Several other chessboxing events have taken place around the world, including in Los Angeles, Tokyo,[2] Nantes (France), Reykjavík (Iceland), Amsterdam,[3] Calcutta (India) andKrasnoyarsk (Russia). Participants must be skilled as both boxers and chess players, as a match may be won either way.

A full match consists of eleven rounds: six rounds of chess, each four minutes long, and five rounds of boxing, each three minutes long (four minutes under amateur rules).[4] The match begins with a chess round which is followed by a boxing round. Rounds of chess and boxing alternate until the end of the match.[1][5] There is a one-minute break between each round, during which competitors cool out and change gear.[4][5] Rules of fast chess are used, and a competitor only has a total of twelve minutes to use for all his chess moves. Player's chess time is measured using a chess clock.[5]