
Dr. Vladimir Vladimirowitsch Klitschko, who turns 31 in a two weeks, was born
in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, but is Ukrainian by nationality. He turned professional
under the management of a Hamburg promotional company and lived in Germany for
a period of time. In October 2000 he won the WBO Heavyweight Championship from
American Chris Byrd in Cologne, Germany (Byrd had won the title from Vladimir's
brother Vitaly six months earlier). Vladimir defended the title five time and
lost it in an upset TKO to South African Corrie Sanders in March 2003.
In April 2006 Klitschko
again defeated Chris Byrd in Mannheim, Germany, for the IBF and the IBO
world heavyweight championships. He went on to beat Calvin Brock in November
2006 at Madison Square Garden, and is now considered one of the finest heavyweight
boxers in the world – the "man to beat" in the heavyweight division.
His camp hopes for a unification fight against WBC champion Nikolai Valuev,
Russia, who is 2.13 meter (7 foot) tall, and would be the first fighter Klitschko
would look up to (Vladimir is 2.00 meter or 6' 7" in height). Valuev is
managed by Don King and long, hard negotiations are expected.
Today Vladimir, who speaks fluent German, lives in Beverly Hills, California,
where he trains with his older brother, former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.
Both Klitschko brothers are avid chess players and have visited the ChessBase
office in Hamburg.

Chess and boxing professionals play a game of tandem chess

Vitali Klitschko, Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Leko and Wladimir Klitschko before
the Dannemann World Championship match in Brisago, 2004

The Klitschko brother in the ChessBase office

Vladimir playing a friendly game on Playchess.com against fellow Ukrainian Sergey
Karjakin

Lost to Karjakin? Vladimir gets a copy of our beginners' program Fritz &
Fertig

These two multilingual PhD-toting heavyweight boxers love to relax with
chess

With Garry Kasparov after a hard-fought victory in Atlantic City

Two Vlads: IBF world champion Vladimir Klitschko and chess world champion
Vladimir Kramnik immediately after the fight Klitschko vs Chris Byrd in 2006
The fight on Saturday night in Mannheim, Germany, was fairly onesided. Austin
did not land a meaningful punch during the fight, and Vladimir Klitschko, to
the best of our knowledge, did not throw any with his famous right hand. Instead
he used left jabs and hooks to set up his opponent and then finished him off
87 seconds into the second round with a flurry of left looks. You can watch
the video on YouTube:
ChessBase articles on boxing and chess
Chess
and boxing champions
10.07.2004
77 days to go for the classical chess world championship between Vladimir
Kramnik and Peter Leko (Sept. 25 to Oct 18 2004 in Brissago). The sponsors,
the Swiss tobacco manufacturer Dannemann, have announced that the boxing
champs Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko will be visiting the match. Press
release. |
Judgment
day for chess players
05.08.2003
Muscles and chess are not mutually exclusive. We know that heavyweight
champions Lewis
and Klitschko are fans, but now we hear that superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger
plays chess between shoots. This was revealed by a Spanish newspaper,
and we found further evidence on a German chess site. Unfortunately your
incompetent reporter let the biggest
fish get away. |
Chess
players slug it out in Los Angeles
21.06.2003
Tonight two chess players are playing a World Championship match in Los
Angeles. Not with knights and pawns but boxing gloves. The contenders
are Dr. Vitaly Klitschko, chess fan from the Ukraine, and Britain's Lennox
Lewis, the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, who is possibly
the stronger chess player. Tip: you can watch this match free (in Europe)!
Links and details are here...
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Heavyweight
Camp supports school chess team
13.05.2003
We know that, just like the
Klitschkos, world heavyweight champion Lennox
Lewis is an avid chess fan. In fact Lewis actually adopted an elementary
school team and donated $14,000 towards their chess training. Now the
The Oakhaven Lennox Lewis Chess Team has repayed him with a first
place in the USCF National Elementary Championships in Nashville. More...
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Chess
Boxing: the Tokyo Fight
03.05.2004
Last year Iepe the Joker won the World Chess Boxing Championship. Now
Iepe (29, 1.80m, 74kg) has defended his title against a Japanese challenger,
Soichiro the Cho-Yabai (22, 1.77m, 70kg) in a bout staged at the famous
"Time & Style" venue in Tokyo. Pictorial
report... |
You
thought we were making it up?
05.12.2003
"Is it April 1st?", a number of readers asked. Chess boxing? Putting players
in a boxing ring for chess and boxing? The crowd screaming for blood and
piece sacrifices? Our recent
report described the setup, now the organisers have sent us a report
and pictures to prove that they are really serious about this
new discipline. |
Chess
boxing: Kramnik vs Klitschko?
02.12.2003
Is chess too boring for you? Those crafty Dutchies have found a way to
finally resolve the impasse in the chess world. Put the players in a boxing
ring, let them play for four minutes and then duke 'em up for a round
with the gloves. Hmmm, Vladimir Kramnik loses badly to Vitaly Klitchko
in the FIDE classical world chess boxing championship final? We
are not joking. |
Time
Magazine on 'Brawn and brains'
02.12.2002
He's 6 foot 8 1/4" (2,00 m) and packs 245 lbs (112 kg) of pure muscle.
Like his brother he is a professional boxer – and a keen chess player.
Vitaly Klitschko,
31, is challenging Lennox Lewis, heavyweight champ of the World Boxing
Council early next year. To a boxing match and a game of chess. Contrary
to the Time
Magazine report we believe that Lewis will win – the chess game,
that is. |
Another
chess player climbs into the ring
28.06.2002
We told you about Lennox Lewis's love of chess (see 09.06.2002 below).
On Saturday another brainy boxer, Wladimir Klitschko, will fight for the
WBO Heavyweight Title in Atlantic City – with Garry Kasparov watching.
In a future match against Lewis, Klitschko has suggested the two should
play a game of chess before the fight – with Garry Kasparov watching.
More |
Lennox
Lewis beats Tyson with white (shorts)
09.06.2002
Last night the British heavy-weight champion Lennox Lewis masterfully
defeated Mike Tyson. Lewis is not just physically awesome, he is also
a cerebral human being who loves nothing more than a good game of chess.
"I see him sitting there for ten minutes thinking four moves ahead before
he makes one," says his baffled trainer Emmanuel Steward. A year ago Lewis
took on Telegraph editor Dominic Lawson in chess. You will find a vivid
description of their two-game fight
here. |
Squaring
up to Lennox Lewis
05.02.2002
Everyone knows that Lennox Lewis is the undisputed heavyweight boxing
champion of the world, but also an obsessive chessplayer. Last week Lewis
might have lost the chance to defend his title against Mike Tyson (after
the former champion was stripped of his licence for trying to eat Lennox's
leg at a press conference), so instead he decided to accept the challenge
of a Telegraph editor Dominic Lawson to a battle over the 64 squares
of the chessboard. You will find a vivid description of the two-game match
here.
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You
definitely do not want to hide this man's chess set
19.11.2001
When trainer Emmanuel Steward wants to get Lennox Lewis upset and in the
right frame of mind for a big fight, he hides the Briton's chess set.
This is what he did ahead of Saturday's heavyweight title fight rematch
with Hasim Rahman. "I honestly don't like him playing chess,'' moaned
Steward, ''I mean I see him sitting there for ten minutes thinking four
moves ahead before he makes one. And he actually does the same thing in
the ring – he thinks to much.'' Steward, who has worked with many world
champions, has often criticized Lewis for being too cautious, for treating
a fight as if it were a game of chess -- becoming too cerebral and not
physical enough. More...
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