Pawns to Punches: The Odd History of Chessboxing
One of the strangest sports known to man has found a home in Berlin, Germany. The sport of chessboxing was invented by a Dutch performance artist named Iepe Rubingh in the late nineties. The first chessboxing competition took place in Berlin in 2003. That year, the first world championship match was held in Amsterdam under the supervision of the World Chess Boxing Organization. The inventer of the sport, Rubingh, became the first middle weight champion after his opponent, Jean Louis Veenstra, exceeded his chess time limit in the eleventh round.
The rules of the sport are fairly simple. Essentially, there are alternating rounds of chess and boxing, in which a competitor may either win by knockout or checkmate. In some cases, a fighter may be disqualified due to exceeding to time limit placed on the chess match. The fight itself consists of eleven rounds, six of chess and five of boxing. The idea behind the sport is that it is both a very mentally taxing activity and a very physically taxing one as well. When first created, Rubingh thought it would be only an “art performance,” however, it soon developed into a very competitive sport.
Perhaps the most confusing aspect of the sport is why there is such popularity for such an odd activity. While chessboxing does have many fans throughout the U.K., India, and Russia, the majority are in Germany, where the championships are held. Each country has its own chessboxing organization, and they work in collaboration with one another to grow the sport. Alongside these organizations is Chess Boxing Global, a marketing agency responsible for professional fights and commercial activities associated with the sport.
Part of the intrigue that is associated with the sport most likely stems from the eccentricity of those who take part in it. Chessboxing is rarely heard of in mainstream news and is very small and secluded niche of the sports world. There have been some attempts to gain support, but most have fallen short of what those involved would like to see. In 2013 Enki Bilal auctioned off a painting that depicted a chessboxer in an artistic style. The painting would earn over 170,000 euros for Chess Boxing Global. That same year however, CBG held their first world championship in moskow, which only drew 1,200 fans and viewers.
While there is little support for the sport, and less attention paid to it, it remains one of the strangest sports that one can watch or participate in. Over the last few years, the sport has grown exponentially, but still is not large enough to be noticed. If it continues to grow, it will be interesting to see how it develops as it gains more of a following.
