From Board to Ring: My Thrilling Journey in Chessboxing Continues
Hello, fellow chess enthusiasts! I am delighted to share with you the exhilarating experience of my second chessboxing fight. As a passionate chess player and an avid fan of boxing, combining these two contrasting yet enthralling sports has been an incredible journey. In this blog post, I'll take you through the highs, lows, and everything in between that I encountered in my recent chessboxing encounter. So, fasten your seatbelts and get ready for an unforgettable ride!
The first round of chess. Richard "The Berzerker" Evans Lacey (left) and Myself (right)
Photo credit: Pawel Gawronski
What is Chessboxing though?
Chessboxing is a unique hybrid sport that combines the intellectual challenges of chess with the physical intensity of boxing. It requires participants to demonstrate strategic thinking and physical prowess in alternating rounds of chess and boxing. The sport originated in 2003 and has gained a dedicated following ever since.
The rules of chessboxing are designed to create a balance between the mental and physical aspects of the game. A typical chessboxing match consists of several rounds alternating between chess and boxing. The match normally begins with a four-minute chess round, followed by a two-minute boxing round. The pattern continues until all rounds are completed, or a player achieves a checkmate or knockout victory.
During the chess rounds, participants sit at a chessboard and play with a time control similar to traditional chess tournaments. Each player is allotted a specific amount of time to make their moves. The chess rounds test the players' strategic thinking, concentration, and ability to plan ahead while under physical duress.
The boxing rounds, on the other hand, are fast-paced and physically demanding. The participants wear protective headgear and gloves, adhering to standard boxing regulations. The objective is to land punches on the opponent while avoiding being hit, aiming for a knockout victory. If a knockout does not occur, the winner is determined based on points awarded by judges, similar to professional boxing matches.
Here is a trailer of an excellent documentary that charts the early years of the hybrid sport from its inception to the modern day performances.
First Blood - My fight against James "Spiceboy" Corrigan
Before I talk about my second fight in the ring, I think it is best to start with my first ever fight. Back in January 2022 I was asked whether I wanted to fight my good chess friend James in a chessboxing fight. I had dabbled in chessboxing over the years having been introduced to the sport by chessboxing legend, Matt "Crazy Arms" Read who was a fellow member of the chess club that I attended:
A chessboxing legend, Matt Read (sat on the left)
One of his many fights (31 fights and counting!)
However, there was one big problem for me. Whilst I was an experienced tournament chess player, I had absolutely no idea of HOW TO BOX! Throughout my whole life I had not even got myself into a scrap with another human being or even raised my fist against another person - What was I getting myself into! With no idea how to train for a fight, I rather stupidly agreed to embark on a journey to get myself "fighting fit." Thankfully for me, my opponent, whilst a decent chess player was equally dreadful at boxing. Moreover, with the help and support of the Islington Boxing club, I was given solid advice of what I needed to do in order to not make a complete fool of myself in the ring in front of around 500 cheering spectators. My boxing training regime for fight one was as follows:
- A 30 minute run every other day
- Attending the Islington Boxing Club once a week to get support on the basics of boxing
- three light sparring rounds of boxing a week.
- 20 lengths of my local swimming pool every other day (if I did not do a jog)
The conventional advice I was given in training for a boxing fight suggested that roadwork (running) and cardio was vitally important. Admittedly, this training regime was not followed superbly well due to various real-life commitments at the time; Nonetheless I tried my best to follow this as best as I could. Furthermore I did have a number of set-backs in training - such as getting battered in the ring because I could not box to save my life - but I stuck at it as best as I could. If I could change anything about those few months in my life though, it would have been to eat healthily to give myself the right energy I needed to do the rigorous training that boxing demands.
My chess training during that period:
As a traditional classical long-play chessplayer, the time controls of chessboxing were a little on the fast side... I mainly focused on trying to practice playing quickly, doing lots of chess puzzles during this time and working hard on my speed and accuracy. Another tricky aspect to this sport is the transition between boxing and chess; With the adrenaline pumping through your body after a round of boxing, it was important to focus on techniques to calm the heartrate down before the chess could take place. Matt Read, with his years of experience, had warned me that blunders were very common after a round of boxing as your brain had not completely switched from "fight or flight mode" to "chess-thinking mode."
My chess training at that time:
- A number of bullet games online to practice playing with speed
- Tactics puzzles - In particular, simple tactics with the puzzle rush feature on chess.com
- Paying casual off-hand blitz games against other chess players.
Four months later and nearly 9kgs lighter, my first battle began:
Round 3 - A bloody battle wages on!
I was a mix of emotions after my first fight. On the one hand I was overjoyed that I was able to complete my first ever fight and step into the ring. On the other hand, I was gutted that I was not able to win as the chess timer caught up with me. Despite the result, my first chessboxing fight was a major achievement for myself. I had proved to myself, at the very least, that I could commit to something over a number of weeks to be able to perform in front of a cheering audience.
The longggg break
After that fight, I was happy that I was able to relax and take a break from all the difficult boxing training. I was particularly delighted about resting my head which took quite the pummeling in the sparring training that I had acomplished over those weeks. Days eventually turned into months and when the next chessboxing event took place (in December 2022) I had hardly attended any chessboxing sessions since my fight in May of that year. As I stood longingly in the audience of that event, I felt a sudden primal urge in my brain. Could it be something dragging me back into the sport? Was it me reminiscing of the glimmer and sparkle of the stage lights or the crowd of spectators screaming for me to throw my next punch? Maybe it was just the fact that I wanted to be an eventual winner in the ring? Then, in January of this year, the phone rang...
My next second fight
The phone call came from Gavin, the organiser of chessboxing London, asking if I wanted to do another chessboxing fight against London Chessboxing's very own "ring girl" - The Berzerker! He was looking for someone to fight against in his first ever entrance into the ring. My eyes lit up like never before. I would have a potential chance at redemption and I would have an opportunity to secure my first ever victory in chessboxing! The card was set-up and I had just over two months to prepare:
The stats card for our boxing fight
Whilst it shows that I am slightly heavier in the stats, in reality, Richard held a small edge in weight over my own hefty self... Richard was definitely a more formidable boxer; Much more experienced and physical than my first opponent James. Whilst I had a chasm of an advantage over Richard in the chess, with a difference of over 1000 ELO between us, I knew that one blow to the head from Richard could easily knock me out. I needed to be careful and I needed some urgent support for my boxing.
Bootcamp begins
Luckily, I had I one trump on my side in the boxing. The support of another chessboxer called Nick The Showstopper!
Nick was an experienced boxer and (despite the disaster in that game) a decent chess player as well.
Like Matt, Nick was also a chessboxer who happened to play at the same chess club as me. He was a decent chess player but an even better boxer with 10 fights to his name. If anyone was more qualified to get me ready for my second fight, it was him. Nick watched my first fight against Corrigan; He was very critical of my poor beginner technique and knew he had a lot of work to do with me to get me ready for our eventual fight.
Contrary to my first fight, the boxing training was much more intense with Nick:
- A run every other day
- Intensive Nick boxing training every Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours
- Weekly training at the Islington boxing gym
- five two minute rounds of sparring against amateurs at the boxing gym we trained at.
- 3 crazy rounds of circuit training at the end of our already brutal sessions.
It...was... horrendous... If the sparring against experienced amateur boxers wasn't scary enough, the crazy cardio that my body was succumb to, pushed me to the absolute limit. Nick showed how to really train for a boxing fight - A fight that could have easily ended in my demise...
My Chess training:
My chess training for this fight was relatively similar. I knew I would eventually outplay him in the chess but I still practiced a lot and did a lot of chess training for it. I had previously done some training with the woodpecker method. However, the book is quite challenging to work through, especially when you get to the intermediate to advanced sections of the book. Instead of slogging my way through that book, I completed 5 sets of an easier book to help with my pattern recognition in getting me tactically sharp for my chess game.
My favourite chess puzzle book as the simple puzzles contained in there help build my pattern recognition to be able to see tactics clearly on the board
I solved these on chessable using their move trainer software which you can check out here
Fight Night!
Unlike my first battle, I was extremely nervous this time. I couldn't work out why though - I was in the shape of my life, I was much more confident in boxing and I had a huge advantage in the chess. Why was I so nervous then? Compared to my first fight, I felt that I had spent a lot more time to improve my boxing; I guess that I didn't want to be perceived as failing at that aspect compared to first time. Apprehensively, I took centre stage, the sound of bell rung around the room and my second chessboxing fight had begun!
The chess game.
Some photos of the fight:
Photo credit: Pawel Gawronski
Photo credit: Pawel Gawronski
Photo credit: Pawel Gawronski
Photo credit: Pawel Gawronski
If I close my eyes, maybe he will go away...
Photo credit: Pawel Gawronski
Photo credit: Pawel Gawronski
Photo credit: Pawel Gawronski
Photo credit: Pawel Gawronski
A job well done! Celebrating after the fight with my chessboxing coach Nick.
With my second chessboxing fight completed, and my objective of winning my first fight now fulfilled, I have now been enjoying relaxing these past few months. I have continued to enjoy playing chess and I have a few tournaments lined up this Summer that I am competing in. Despite not doing too much boxing recently, the hunger and desire to go back into the ring is still there. Who knows - Maybe there will be another fight against my first opponent... Watch this space...
If you are interested in coming along to a chessboxing session in London, the Islington boxing club meet every Saturday from 10am-12pm for chessboxing. Anyone can do it even if you have no boxing experience (like me!).
