Chess boxing is a martial sport, combining boxing with chess. The hybrid activity finds its origin in a French comic book.The contest consists of alternating rounds of chess and boxing. Participants must be skilled in both chess and boxing. Either a knock out in the ring, checkmate on the chess board will decide the winner. If one of the opponents runs out of time on the chess clock it will also end the match (Williams 2013: 61). The sport is mainly played in the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, India, Iceland, Finland, France, Russia, Iran, Germany, Italy, Spain and South Africa (Williams 2013: 60; World Chess Boxing Organisation, n.d.).
History/Development
Chess boxing originates from the comic Froid Équateur by French comic book artist Enki Bilal (Bilal 1992), inspiring Dutch performance artist Iepe Rubingh turn it into reality in 2003 (Hale 2019). Following this he established the World Chess Boxing Organisation (Williams 2013: 60) and thus chess boxing became a real competitive sport that has been growing ever since.
Transmission (Policies/institutions)
There are different federations and clubs all over the world, but it is also possible to take online masterclasses through the World Chess Boxing Organisation’s website.
Relevant Organisations
- World Chess Boxing Association (WCBA) - World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO) https://chessboxing.io
Additional Materials
An informative video about chess boxing and interview with performance artist Iepe Rubingh about how he made chess boxing become reality.
References
- Williams, V. (2015). Weird Sports and Wacky Games around the World: from Buzkashi to Zorbing, p. 60-62.- Hale, T. (2019). “Chessboxing: the new craze where brain meets brawn” Huck. https://www.huckmag.com/outdoor/sport-outdoor/chessboxing-the-new-craze-where-brain-meets-brawn/- Bilal, E. (1992). Froid Équateur, Genève : Les Humanoïdes Associés.
