Swedish ChessBoxing Sensation in London
Report by Rajko Vujatovic & Louise Sizer
Such was the pre-fight demand for tickets that marketing needed to be scaled
down for the St. George’s Day event held in London’s Bethnal
Green Working Mens Club – it was a 200 capacity sell-out with another 100
being turned away at the door. (Anyone who would like to be notified of
the next event should email tim.woolgar@gbcbo.co.uk
& request to be added to the GBCBO
newsletter distribution list. Alternatively use this contact if you’d like
help setting up a chessboxing club where you live!)
Konrad Rikardson from Malmo, Sweden, featured in a peak time BBC news report
In an exciting development, the evening boasted the world’s first ever amateur
chessboxing bout, designed to make it easier for chessplayers to transfer into
the sport. There were also the debuts of two bona
fide chessplayers – Englishmen Nick Cornish and Matt "Crazy Arms"
Read had learnt to box completely from scratch, in a year of gruelling training
under the auspices of top coach Bevis Allen.
For the benefit of the uninitiated, chessboxing combines the ultimate mental
sport and the ultimate physical sport, with alternating rounds of chess and
boxing so that a single chess game is fought in parallel with a boxing match.
Checkmate or knockout wins, whichever comes first! You start with
a round of chess, followed by a round of boxing, then another round to continue
the same chess game, and so on and so forth. Each player has twelve minutes
on his clock for all moves, so there is a maximum of six four-minute chess and
five three-minute boxing rounds. The same people box and play chess, a common
misconception is that there is a handover between a chessplayer and a separate
boxer.
That’s how it all works, so let’s see what happened on the night...
The backstage crew is essential to ensure a slick operation. In the above picture
Berliner Sabine Prokscha shares a joke with English Master Caius Turner, whilst
International Master Malcolm Pein studies his notes for the chess commentary.
One of the greatest pleasures of these evenings is hearing how much Pein’s chess
commentary was loved by people who had little or no understanding of the game. Note
the gold ‘king trophies’ besides the bell.
Raga (left) and Milo are regular spectators and add a touch of class. Chessboxing
has a convivial party atmosphere and is far more female friendly than a normal
boxing crowd, with 40% of tickets purchased by ladies.
The Headline Bout:
Sascha Wandkowsky vs. Konrad Rikardson
- White: Sascha Wandkowsky. Chess Elo rating – est
1800. 79kg. Chessboxing record – 5 Wins, 2 Losses. Hometown – Berlin, resident
in London.
- Black: Konrad Rikardson. Chess Elo rating - est 2000.
79kg. Chessboxing record – 1 Win, 1 Loss (stopped by a much heavier opponent).
Hometown – Malmo, Sweden.
Sascha Wandkowsky vs. Konrad Rikardson (facing). Wandkowsky surprises the Swede
with the Grob Attack 1.g4, a favourite of convicted murderer Claude
F. Bloodgood who once had the second highest chess rating in the U.S. after
Bobby Fischer & would’ve undoubtedly made a fearsome chessboxer.
Rikardson as Black played a solid no-nonsense defence avoiding the pawn-grabbing
complications of 2...Bxg4 3.c4, and proceeded to skilfully outplay the Berliner
in the middlegame. Commentator Pein duly instructed the crowd why “A knight
on the rim is dim!”, whilst “A knight in the centre is like an octopus!”. The
latter lesson was clearly absorbed by the spectators – the next day at the boxing
gym, one could hear the riddle “What goes Neighhh, Neighhh, Wibbble, Wibbbbble?”.
A bearded Iepe Rubingh, artist and chessboxing founder, comments on a move
BAM BAM BAM! Sascha’s aggression belies his placid exterior outside the ring
but Rikardson knows how to defend himself – hunch to protect the body and use
the gloves to protect the head. Wandkowksy came back to level terms in the boxing,
no mean feat given that Rikardson knocked him down in round six.
Going into round ten, the Berliner needed to go flat out for a knockout since
his chess position was hopeless, with Rikardson about to promote a pawn to a
queen. Click here to see Sascha’s final boxing round on YouTube.
(Photo: Dr. Giles Spungin) In the final chess round eleven, Wandkowksy
desperately jettisoned everything to try for stalemate, but Rikardson clinically
mopped up the victory. Opinion was that this was the greatest chessboxing bout
held to date. Of course it takes two to make a great contest, so hats off also
to runner-up Wandkowsky.
Traditional samba from ‘Cassandra’ formed part of the entertainment between
bouts
The Amateur Bout:
Matt ‘Crazy Arms’ Read vs Tim Woolgar
- White: Matt ‘Crazy Arms’ Read. Chess Elo rating - est 1800.
80kg. Chessboxing record – Debut. Hometown - London
- Black: Tim Woolgar. Chess Elo rating - est 1400. 90kg.
Chessboxing record – 1 Win, 1 Loss. Hometown – London
A dynamic struggle was anticipated in the Amateur bout, Read’s superior reach
and chess ability compensating for Woolgar’s bulk.
(Photo: Dr. Giles Spungin) Matt ‘Crazy Arms’ Read (left) lived up
to his nickname when he played his cherished Orangutan Opening 1.b4 against
Tim Woolgar. This contest was notable as the world’s first ever Amateur chessboxing
bout, where headguards and large 16 oz. gloves are worn as in standard Amateur
boxing. It’s far more difficult to stop your opponent with this level of protection,
thus favouring the chessplayer.
Compared to professional chessboxing, the combatants each have 6 minutes to
make all moves instead of the normal 12 minutes. Each chess round lasts three
minutes instead of four whilst each boxing round is two minutes instead of three;
so there is a maximum of four chess rounds and three boxing rounds. However,
if you play sufficiently quickly that you don’t use up more than three minutes
of your own time, then you only need to survive four minutes of boxing.
Matt Read uses his long ‘crazy arms’ to good effect
If you can’t reach his head go for the body instead. Woolgar gets thru the
defences of the 6ft 6 in (200 cm) tall Read, whilst Cuban referee Reinaldo Dominguez
looks on
Then it’s back to the final round of chess where there is confusion and high
drama! In a losing position & with ten seconds remaining on his clock, Woolgar
claims a win when Read makes an illegal move, failing to defend his king from
a long-range queen check.
But both players have been briefed that the first illegal move won’t lead
to an automatic loss for the offender – this wouldn’t be popular with paying
spectators! The organisers have instead amended the FIDE blitz laws so an illegal
move is treated like a punch below the belt, where disqualification occurs only
after repeat offences, and the referee has latitude to punish with penalties.
Therefore a delighted Matt ‘Crazy Arms’ Read won the world’s first ever Amateur
chessboxing bout!
The Heavyweight Bout:
James ‘The Slice’ Taylor vs. Bob ‘The Red Kite’ Innes
- White: James ‘The Slice’ Taylor. Chess level – beginner
improver. 100kg. Chessboxing record – 1 win from 1 fight. Hometown - Bristol
- Black: Bob ‘The Red Kite’ Innes. Chess level – beginner
improver. 100kg. Chessboxing record – 1 loss from 1 fight. Hometown – Cardiff
This is a return match from when these gents met in August 2008, when The Slice
emerged victorious after an upper cut in round 2.
The heavyweights slug it out over the board. Bob ‘The Red Kite’ Innes (facing)
and James ‘The Slice’ Taylor tease commentator Malcolm Pein with the possibility
of entering the Frankenstein-Dracula opening variation, but it didn’t quite
happen. If you’re wondering where these nicknames come from, Red Kite is a newsletter
produced by Innes, whilst Taylor is known to have a weakness for custard slices.
After some ups and downs, The Red Kite headed into boxing round four with a
chess advantage.
Since these guys last met in August 2008, Bob ‘The Red Kite’ Innes has worked
on an unorthodox boxing style which instantly endeared him to the entire crowd. Combining
boxing with moves borrowed from Greco-Roman wrestling and Modern Ballet made
for an entertaining combination of defence and counterattack. Everyone was chanting
‘RED KITE! RED KITE! RED KITE!”’. James ‘The Slice’ Taylor tried to win support
by some artful showboating but couldn’t hope to challenge the popularity of
the mighty Red Kite. Sadly for his adoring fans, the former Scottish Universities
Heavyweight Champion hadn’t quite perfected his experimental boxing technique
and was occasionally caught off-balance after an imperfect pirouette, with the
bout ending prematurely at the tail-end of round four by technical Knockout. See
the Das
Bild report for more on Red Kite!
The England vs. Germany Bout:
Nick Cornish vs. Sebastian Bauersfeld
- White: Nick Cornish. Chess Elo rating - est 1600. 81kg.
Chessboxing record – Debut. Hometown - London
- Black: Sebastian Bauersfeld. Chess Elo rating – est 1800.
80kg. Chessboxing record – 4 Wins, 1 Loss. Hometown - Berlin
Here we have two men of similar height and physique. Bauersfeld was the favourite
on paper, with more boxing experience plus a slightly higher chess rating. The
German was born to be a chessboxer –- his grandfather was a chess master
whilst his father was a former GDR boxing champion. As Malcolm Pein stated in
his live commentary, Bauersfeld also has a lucky name – it means Pawn Square
in German, literally ‘farmer field’.
(Photo: Dr. Giles Spungin) Englishman Nick Cornish (left) vs. Germany’s
Sebastian Bauersfeld
Bauersfeld as Black made a bold attempt to blockade on the white squares but
somewhat risky since he hadn’t yet castled his king to safety. When Cornish
offered a queen exchange with Qb4, this was not only greeted by boisterous boos
at the behest of commentator Pein, but also let Bauersfeld realise his strategic
objective.
Nick Cornish shows the deepest concentration in the ring
The German fans were taken aback when Cornish held his own in the boxing with
flurries of aggressive counterpunching that at one time had Bauersfeld on the
ropes. Exhausted but proud to have comfortably survived his first competitive
round in the ring, the Englishman resumed round three with a ‘chessboxing blunder’,
an uncharacteristic move that would’ve never happened in normal chess. Resignation
followed shortly after. Despite the loss of the bout, it was a great success
for the rookie, who impressed with his physical fitness & boxing technique.
Our photographer Louise Sizer is
a final year student of Graphic Design for Communication at London's prestigious
Chelsea College of Art and Design. Louise's current work involves photographing
athletes of unusual sports; her repertoire also includes Bog Snorkelling, Man
vs. Horse marathons and Unicyclists. Her pictures were taken without flash with
a Nikon D200 camera and Nikon 50mm f/1.4 lens.
Requests to obtain high definition prints or to use Louise’s photos for major
commercial publications should be sent to Louise Sizer (who is contactable via
emailing tim.woolgar@gbcbo.co.uk).
