Inside wacky world of chessboxing where fighters box for three minutes then play a round of chess
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“You can’t just be a nerd, and you can’t just be a fighter, you need a combination of both, you need focus.”
No, those aren’t the words of an ’80s pop song or workout montage; actually, they’re the qualities that champion chess and boxing trainer Denno Probst says people need to excel in one of the world’s newest and strangest sports.
Chessboxing for the uninitiated is, you guessed it, a combination of chess and boxing.
The contestants start by beating each other up with three minutes of boxing, and then do a three-minute round of chess.
This continues, in front of a howling crowd, for five to twelve rounds until someone is knocked out, checkmated, or wins on points.
The professional chess player Andrea Botez has recently joined this sport.
Chessboxing sees fighters punch in the ring before a battle of the minds.
The hybrid sport has been picked up around the world and is growing in popularity.
It’s a fairly simple mutation of boxing lore, but where did it come from and why, against all odds, has it developed a cult following, with 300,000 people streaming an event as recently as last December?
The humble sport of chess-boxing was invented in 2003 by the Dutch artist Lepe Rubingh.
It was originally intended to be a form of performing art, but twenty years later the sport has become a global phenomenon being played all over the world in countries as far away as India.
As recently as 2021, Russia’s state news channel RT proposed that the sport be included in the Olympic Games in the future.
Why though? Because?
Denno Probst, 36, is currently the coach of the German chess and boxing team and organizes events through his Cologne chess and boxing group.
Speaking to MailOnline, Denno explained that the sport, while relatively new, was incredibly established.
He said: ‘I currently coach the German team after competing internationally for years. Chess-boxing has been around for 20 years and is always growing, there is a lot of interest as it is a very different contact sport.
It draws an intellectual crowd.
Denno Probst coaches the German chess and boxing team and occasionally fights himself.
Denno says chess-boxing is a hybrid sport that can find people in need quickly.
Just hearing Denno’s big voice on the phone I can tell he’s a big man, this surely makes him a boxing chess machine?
He laughs: ‘I weigh 90 kg and I run marathons, so boxing is not a fight, but chess is difficult for me.
“The way it works is you do three minutes of boxing, then three minutes of chess for 11 rounds.
You can win by checkmate or by knockout. It means you can’t rely on just one force. Being good at one does not mean being good at both.
“You can’t just be a nerd and you can’t just be a fighter, it’s all about concentration.”
As with other martial arts, chess boxing is a mixed-sex sport with fights led by women regularly topping the match charts.
In December, a fight between newcomers Andrea Botez and Dina Belenkaya was watched online by some 300,000 people.
Both fighters have a long way to go if they want to beat reigning European Champion Julianna ‘Kick Ass Baroness’ Baron.
The 46-year-old spends her working life as a managing partner in Munich and said her alter ego is a perfect way to blow off steam.
European Champion Julianna ‘Kick Ass Baroness’ Baron uses sport to blow off steam
The sport is as popular among women as it is among men.
Julianna has said that she welcomes all challengers to her title.
She said: ‘I started this sport two and a half years ago and now I am a European champion, but I have experience in kickboxing and chess.
“I’m one of those fighters who is comfortable in both disciplines.”
Although Julianna accepts that the humble sport is currently niche, she insists that it will grow and find an untapped demographic.
She explained: “It’s a growing sport and the demographics are changing all the time, in the beginning it was mostly seen as a fun, weird sport.”
Now it is more serious. After all, who’s going to be crazy enough to get in the ring if you only do chess and vice versa, only boxing?’
And the current undefeated European heavyweight is not resting on his laurels and actively wants people to challenge him.
She said: ‘I hope more women get involved as women’s fights have a beautiful technicality to them.
‘It is the number 1 sport for thought and martial arts.’
A recent women’s fight was streamed online by over 300,000 people.
Gavin Paterson, 41, (right) is one of the leading figures in UK chess boxing.
Back in Blighty, Brit’s is also getting in on the hype.
Gavin Paterson, 41, is one of the main organizers of Chessboxing Nation, a London-based group that organizes matches and competitions in the UK.
With a chess boxing record of three fights and three losses, it is perhaps no surprise that he decided to try his hand at behind the desk.
Like many devotees of the sport, Gavin came across chess and at first thought it seemed “mental.”
He said: ‘I was working for a charity in 2013 and we did a chess and boxing fundraiser. I’ve been hooked ever since.
“It seems mental, but I like weird things and the dichotomy attracts me, they look different from each other, but chess and boxing are very related.”
Now leading a group with around 50 active members, Gavin says he’s determined to grow the reputation of the beautiful game.
He said: ‘Chessboxing is a small global community, there are probably around 50 active members in London.
‘The way we’re progressing as a sport, we’re trying to put bums in the seats the same way boxing does.
“And just like boxing, we take safety very seriously, fights stop if they aren’t safe.
“For example, I have seen someone so bewildered that they moved the wrong chess piece after a round of boxing.
“They lost the chess game that round and the fight did not start again.”
A headache and having to put the chess pieces back in their box: the ultimate checkmate.