Play chess, get a bloody nose

MUMBAI: Whenever Andy ‘The Rock’ Costello moves his pawn to e4, he is also careful about not getting knocked out by a left hook or a vicious upper cut. For the uninitiated, Costello plays chessboxing, a sport which he terms as “as the ultimate combination of brawn and brain.”

On Saturday, Costello would be showcasing his talents in a chessboxing tournament in Germany, which will also feature a light heavyweight world championship bout. Defending champion Frank ‘Anti Terror’ Stoldt, 37, of Germany will take on 19-year-old Russian challenger Nikolay Sazhin in the light heavyweight championship bout at Berlin.

While Stoldt is a riot policeman in Berlin and has done UN stints in Kosovo, Sazhin is from Siberia and has an Elo-rating of 1911 with 60 bouts against his name.

Chessboxing was first introduced by Enki Bilal, a Yugoslav-born comic strip writer, artist and filmmaker, in his comic book titled Froid Équateur in 1992. Iepe Rubingh, a Dutch performance artist, first introduced chessboxing biathlon as a sport in 2003. On November 14, 2003, Iepe ‘The Joker’ played the first chessboxing match against Luis
‘The Lawyer’ — Rubingh is the current head of the world chessboxing organisation.

A chessboxing bout involves 11 rounds — 6 rounds of chess and 5 of boxing. A chess round lasts four minutes while that of boxing is a three-minute affair.  Turn to p18

A player can win the match by either a knockout or checkmate. In case there is no knockout or checkmate, the match is settled with points earned in the boxing rounds.
Costello was introduced to chessboxing by a friend who saw a video on You Tube. “I was fascinated by the concept when is saw it for the first time,” remarked Costello while talking to DNA on the phone. Since the 35-year-old boxer had played chess at the junior level, he took to chessboxing very easily. “It was perfect for me,” says Costello, who is Britain’s chessboxing champion. Costello has nine professional fights behind him and an Elo rating approaching 2000.

Though Andy loves both chess and boxing, he dreads playing chess after boxing. “After getting pummelled in the ring, it is very difficult to maintain concentration for a game of chess,” says Costello.

How does one become a chessboxer? According to Tim Woolgar of Great Britain chess boxing organisation, training involves chess mixed with sparring punching bags and pads. “You don’t have to be good at one sport or the other. We train you in both. The idea is to improve, and feel more confident,” he told DNA.

In order to become eligible for championship fights, a chessboxer should be in great physical shape, have some boxing experience and should have an Elo rating of 1800.

According to the world chessboxing organization, 60% applicants have a boxing background while the remaining 40% are from the chess world. And all sorts of people — from bankers to artists and from goldsmiths to workmen - have shown interest in the sport.

Woolgar believes that chess and boxing coming together was natural. “World Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko has an Elo rating approaching International Master status. Gary Kasparov used to undergo boxing training while preparing for chess matches and used boxing exercises to stay fresh during chess matches,” Woolgar said.

Woolgar is in the process of planning a chessboxing tournament in London involving two grandmasters. “Audiences love this sport - and not just the men - women find it completely fascinating as well,” he remarked.

From comic book to the ring

The idea of chessboxing was first introduced by Yugoslav Enki Bilal in his comic book ‘Froid Équateur’ in 1992

Dutch performance artist Iepe Rubingh later showcased it as a sport in 2003
Germany’s Frank Stoldt, 37, is the reigning world light heavyweight chessboxing champion

On Saturday, Russia’s Nikolay Sazhin, 19, will take on Stoldt in a title bout