Chessboxing

Chessboxing is a hybrid sport that involves alternate rounds of chess and (you guessed it) boxing. Recently this video appeared on the Berlin Chessboxing Club's website:

SHOCKING!

Enraged by this insult I went to cheer on London at the match/fight/game (?). Michael and I arrived at the train station and were offered sparkling wine and a lift to the venue (my sense of outrage dwindled due to the good hospitality, and perhaps the alcohol).

We were stamped with the chessboxing logo...

...and waited for the match to begin (Who's that lovely lady? Why, it's me!).

After careful preparation...

...the fighters entered the ring...

...the real lovely ladies declared the first round (I've never seen two more bored looking girls in my life)...

...and the two men sat down to a four-minute round of chess

Each player has a maximum of twelve minutes to play chess during the whole game, and there are a maximum of eleven rounds, including the three-minute boxing rounds. The commentator explained the game and we could see the moves on a large screen.

Then it was up for a round of boxing.

Who is that lovely lady whose job it is to move the board in and out of the ring between rounds? It's Sabine, my house-mate and chessboxer.

The chess rounds became increasingly more intense as the fighters tried to slow their breathing, recover from the punches and focus on the task at hand, their sweat dripping onto the board. Understandably, most mistakes are made at the start of the round.

There were three fights, and it was interesting to see how the players tactics played to their strengths. I think I might take up the sport.

So, how do you move horsey?