American David Depto (right) moves a piece during a chess boxing world championship against German Frank Stoldt in Berlin in this 2007 file picture. The sport combines chess and boxing in alternating rounds.

Nikolay Sazhin almost knocked out his opponent with a blow to the chin in the second round, but he had to take the queen to win the match.

As Sazhin moved a bishop to go in for the kill in front of 1,000 cheering fans in Berlin one recent Saturday night, he took the title of world champion of chess boxing, a hybrid sport that combines five rounds of pugilism with a 24-minute game of chess.

"It's the No. 1 thinking game and the No. 1 fighting game," said Iepe Rubingh, the sport's 32-year-old founder.

Rubingh's inspiration was "Cold Equator," a 1992 French comic book in which two heavyweight boxers fight for 12 rounds and then play a 45-hour game of chess.

"That's not functional. So I thought about how it could work," Rubingh said.

His version comes complete with a custom-made electronic chessboard that lets spectators watch the action projected onto a pair of large ringside screens.

In 2003, the Dutchman set out to find tough fighters in Berlin who could also play a good game of chess. Germany has emerged as a major boxing center attracting top talent from Eastern Europe and many train in Hamburg.

He knows he won't be recruiting either boxers or chess players at the top of their games, but does believe there is a deep reservoir of talent among amateur and lower ranked pro fighters who have a sharp, tactical mind.

"With a certain level of practice, people can play chess during a chess boxing match almost at their normal level," Rubingh said.

One of his first prospects was Frank Stoldt, a 37-year-old Berlin riot policeman and amateur kick boxer. Stoldt was also an obsessive chess player, who often lost himself in late night online matches.

"Both disciplines are aggressive," Stoldt said of his attraction to the sport. He started training at Rubingh's gym in Berlin's downtown Mitte district. In November, he won the sport's first world championship in Berlin.

He lost his belt this month to Sazhin, a 19-year-old Russian, who learned about the sport on the Internet. Rubingh thinks he could be the first of many chess boxers from a country that has embraced fighters and immortalizes chess players, like Russian legends Garry Kasparov and Boris Spassky.

It was long after midnight in a Berlin warehouse when Sazhin and Stoldt entered the ring and sat down at the chessboard. Stoldt moved quickly to establish a defensive perimeter of pawns, while Sazhin staggered his diagonally.

Switching to boxing, Sazhin attacked Stoldt with a relentless series of bodyshots that left the German exhausted.

Back at the chessboard, Stoldt looked distracted  and he left his queen vulnerable as he scurried to protect an exposed bishop.

Sazhin pounced, forcing Stoldt to concede the match.

"To see these 120-kilogram guys sitting there playing chess, it's like a photo montage," said 27-year-old chess boxing fan Yarim Fahre. "The different strengths, the tactics. They don't go together."

The game starts at the chessboard. In this version of speed chess, each player has a total of 12 minutes in which to beat his opponent. During a player's turn, the clock is running. When he completes a move he stops his clock, and his opponent's clock starts ticking.

When the contestants have played four minutes of chess between them, the board game is suspended and they put on their gloves. The boxing is in three-minute rounds. After each boxing round contestants have a one-minute rest before returning to the chessboard. The contest can last as long as five boxing rounds and six chess rounds.

There are several ways to win. By boxing, a contestant can knock his opponent out or win by a referee decision if the chess ends in stalemate. In chess, a contestant can win through check mate, by forcing his opponent to forfeit the match, or if his opponent's 12-minute chess clock runs out.

(Shanghai Daily July 16, 2008)