A The French writer Enki Bilal came up with the idea for chess boxing in a novel he wrote in 1992. Then, ten years later, the

A The French writer Enki Bilal came up with the idea for
chess boxing in a novel he wrote in 1992. Then, ten
years later, the Dutch artist, Lepe Rubingh, brought
chess boxing into the real world. He organised the first
World Chess Boxing Championship in 2003. Actually,
only two people took part, Rubingh and his friend, but
soon more people heard about this bizarre sport. Today,
chess boxing gyms are appearing around the globe.
B But how do you play chess boxing? Well, each match
has 11 rounds. In the first round the players begin a
game of chess. The players have to move their pieces
quickly or they lose points. Then, after four minutes, the
players put on gloves and box for three minutes. Then,
they go back to the chess game. The match carries on
like this until someone gets a knockout while boxing or a
checkmate in the chess game. When matches end after
the 11th round, the winner is the player with the most
points in the boxing rounds.
cAccording to Rubingh, chess boxing is the only sport
that tests the mind and the body equally. And its not a
sport for beginners. Chessboxers have to have a boxing
licence and an international ranking in chess. But even
qualified chessboxers find the sport difficult. As Rubingh
says, Chessboxers must be able to change from one
sport to the other easily. When you are boxing, your
heart rate goes up. Then, you must sit down and
concentrate at a chessboard. Thats very hard to do.
2 Answer the following questions.
1 What was strange about the first World Chess Boxing
Championship?
2 Who is the winner of a match that doesnt end by
knockout or checkmate?
3 According to Rubingh, why is chess boxing a difficult
sport?