Silence in the ring: Chessboxers are given earpieces to keep out the noise for their two rounds of chess. (0674991)
THE bizarre new sport of chessboxing does not look set to grip Guernsey.
It combines the two polar opposites of chess and boxing and, not surprisingly, the head coach of the Amalgamated Boys’ Club, Graham Guilbert, does not think the Guernsey Open Shows, which regularly sell out within hours of the tickets going on sale, will be featuring chessboxing any time soon.
‘I can’t see the Guernsey punters having it to be honest,’ he said. ‘They all like a rock and rumble. I don’t think they would be up for it.’
Chessboxing came to the UK in April and a club has been formed in North London with regular chessboxing shows taking place. It is becoming big business in the Netherlands and Germany where the World Chess Boxing Organisation is based.
Chessboxing has the bizarre sight of two burly fighters face each other over a chess board in the middle of a ring.
They play a four-minute round of chess then, when the bell is rung, the chess board is moved away and the pair get down to pounding each other with their fists for a three-minute round of boxing.
A round of speed chess is next, followed by a round of boxing, until one of them is knocked out or loses their king.
While Guilbert is clearly not a fan of the idea, one of his top fighters, 18-year-old welterweight James Woolnough, said he would be willing to give it a try.
‘I’m not really a very good chess player so I’d have to win the second round,’ he said.
‘It’s quite amusing, but I might give it a bash one day.’
Chessboxing was brought into reality in 2003 by a Dutch performance artist who was inspired by a French comic.
But there could be a method to this madness.
Critics say that there are similarities between the two disciplines.
Lennox Lewis is an avid chess player who used to play in breaks during training.
While Russian Vitali Klitschko, who once fought Lewis for the heavyweight championship of the world, is also a fan.
The pair have apparently played each other at chess.
‘He [Lewis] used to think that chess is similar to boxing,’ said Woolnough.
‘He said that making moves in boxing, like throwing a right hook, are like moves in chess. I don’t think Mike Tyson was much of a chess player though.
‘It depends on your style of boxing, but if you’re scientific or not I think they are very similar.’
The secretary of the Guernsey Chess Club, Fred Hamperl, was well aware of chessboxing, but he was unsure if any of his members, such as judge Russell Finch, would be up for trying it.
‘It would be funny,’ he said.
‘I could ask them. The rules work out quite well as the chess guy can’t just go in and win. He’s got to last a couple of rounds.’
Hamperl compared the sport to biathlon where cross-country skiers have to control their breathing to shoot targets after exerting themselves.
‘It’s a really interesting mix – the physical side of boxing and then you’ve got to gather your thoughts for chess,’ said Hamperl.
‘It’s a bit strange though.’
Article posted on 22nd November, 2008 - 9.29am
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