A new sport is slowly becoming a sensation, and it combines two pastimes that seem to be polar opposites: chessboxing. The game is exactly what it sounds like, as it blends chess and boxing to create a new spectacle. But while the sport is growing in popularity, many people have not yet heard of chessboxing – and loads of them still don't understand it.
Chessboxing, as you might expect, intersperses rounds of chess with boxing. The sport generally "consists of 11 alternating rounds – six of chess and five of boxing – and each one lasts three minutes", said Chess.com. This is broken up by one-minute breaks. During the chess matches a "single game is played, with each player limited to a time control of nine minutes with no increment".
The "winner is determined by checkmate, resignation, knockout or disqualification by the referee". If a player does not win during the chess games, then whoever has more points throughout the boxing rounds becomes the winner.
Chessboxing tournaments are happening in various countries. Some "believe the sport's provenance can be traced to the 1970s in London, when two brothers grabbed headlines for playing chess after a few rounds of boxing at their gym", said the South China Morning Post.
It has taken off particularly well in Europe because it "took lessons from boxing and wrestling in the way it presents the sport", chessboxing promoter Gavin Paterson told The Economist. The "boxing impacts the chess and vice versa", creating a popular choice for people who want a unique entertainment option. | 
