Chessboxing is a hybrid sport in which competitors alternate between rounds of chess and boxing, winning by checkmate on the board or knockout in the ring. Some 80% of matches are decided on the chess board.
The first chessboxing bout took place in Berlin in 2003, organised by Iepe Rubingh, a Dutch performance artist. A breakaway British faction got going five years later, in 2008.
Britain has hosted the most bouts of any country and is home to some 200 regular chessboxers. The Islington Boxing Club in London is the British home of the sport. Britain was the first country to introduce a grading system, similar to the belts in judo or karate. British chessboxing has been more successful than its continental counterpart in part because it took lessons from boxing and wrestling in how it presents the sport.
Training consists of rounds of chess alternating with intense exercise or sparring. The challenge comes from attempting a cerebral activity while fighting for breath; a pounding heart and punches to the head can leave competitors disoriented. A common tactic is to take your turn in chess just as the next boxing round begins, so your opponent's clock runs while you are in the ring. Fighters are not paid; chessboxing runs on "pride and idiocy", as one volunteer put it.
The difference between America and England is that the English think 100 miles is a long distance and the Americans think 100 years is a long time.