Events

Season Opener 2016 – Report

A superb series of bouts at York Hall saw the international Chessboxing season open at full throttle.

Line-up Season Opener 2016

The start to the international chessboxing season is always a special night and 2016 promises to be one of the best yet,

International Chessboxing Season Opener 2016

2 APRIL 2016
International Chessboxing Season Opener
York Hall Bethnal Green, London
Doors 7pm
Show starts 7.30pm
Curfew 11pm
Get your tickets here.

York Hall Chessboxing Spectacular – Review

As London Chessboxing descended on Bethnal Green’s York Hall on November 28^th a palpable sense of excitement began to build at the iconic east-end boxing venue. This was a moment of truth for the chessboxers in hard training since June this year, an opportunity to test themselves for the first time in a major arena.

And the contestants did not let us down. The night began with a warm-up exhibition match between Henry Blanchard and Rob Fletcher in the light-heavyweight division. Fletcher boxed within himself but showed some unorthodox and effective skills, while Blanchard concentrated on wearing his man down in the rounds of chess, eventually scoring a checkmate in round 7.

The second bout of the night featured LCB favourite Matt “Crazy Arms” Read against the confident debutant Liam “Yogi” Macpherson. Fans of Crazy Arms are used to seeing him soak up physical punishment only to emerge victorious (but usually bloodied) thanks to his superior chess skills. On this occasion however Read dominated in both elements of the fight, using his long reach to devastating effect and in round 4 landing a hard uppercut that rocked Yogi and nearly sent him to the canvas. The proud Scot continued to the end of the round but ringside medics advised him not to continue the fight. In a gallant attempt he fought through the pain barrier and played the final chess round in a forlorn hop of upsetting Read at the board but when that did not succeed the bout was declared in Read’s favour by TKO.

The standout fight of the night came next – an 11 round thriller between Sean “The Machine” Mooney and Paul “The Hitman” Roberts. Earlier in the day the event organisers had received news that lightweight world champion contender Guram Guberidze from Georgia had pulled out of his scheduled contest at the last minute. In order to satisfy the 800 strong crowd who had come to see a title fight WCBA officials expeditiously sanctioned the Mooney V Roberts bout as a decider for the vacant world middleweight throne.

A battle royale ensued with both men showing themselves worthy contenders for the prestigious belt. But it was the more experienced Mooney who gained the upper hand, first on the chessboard and then via a devastating three punch combination ending with a solid uppercut that landed flush on Roberts’ nose causing blood to jet onto the canvas.

The bout was suspended while medics stemmed the bleeding before Roberts could continue. Showing enormous heart he battled his way back into the contest but it was an uphill struggle all the way and in at the end of the 11^th and final round Mooney’s technique and fitness were sufficient to overcome The Hitman’s strength and commitment.

In a final coda to the evening, Vladimir Agasaryan who was to have fought for the WCBA lightweight title before his opponent withdrew, made an appearance against stand-in Khalidas …. from Lithuania. Agasaryan, in peak physical condition made short work of his plucky but under-prepared opponent, winning after four rounds of total domination.

FISP International Chessboxing Show / Oct 2015 / Italy

Our chessboxing brethren in Italy, the Federazione Italiana ScacchiPugilato (FISP), staged a wonderful series of fights at the Hurricane fight gym in Boffaloro on the outskirts of Milan. The impressively furbished venue, located incongruously in a stark semi-industrial landscape, provided a suitable backdrop to the drama about to unfold.

GrandMaster BASH! June 13th 2015 Scala, London – Report

Having retired from a boxing career spanning over 200 amateur fights and 27 professional ones and becoming one of only two Europeans to retire as undefeated world champions, perhaps Terry Marsh could be forgiven for bringing out the pipe and slippers and reflecting on a glorious career in the peace and quiet of his Basildon home surrounded by loving family.

GrandMaster Bash! 13th June 2015

This Summer Chessboxing show has something special with a WCBA World Welterweight Title clash topping the bill. Former IBF Wolrd Champion Terry Marsh capitalises on two straight Scala wins to earn a match against the reigning WCBA World Lightweight champion Dymer Agasaryan from Lithuania. Agasaryan is aiming to become the first chessboxer to hold world titles at two separate weights while Marsh aims to add one more flourish to a glittering career.

by Naqib Qazi

A night of drama unfolded on Saturday night as International Chessboxing took centre stage at the Scala in London’s Kings Cross.

A boisterous crowd was treated to an evening of cabaret, pomp and sheer chessboxing excitement. The event saw top-class talent from across the globe, pit their might and wit against each other in a night of incident and controversy that will live long in the memory with four bouts that pushed the boundaries of mental and physical prowess to the limit.

Brown (left) establishes and early advantage

The encounter between Singapore’s Bryan Woon and Yorkshire’s Ricky Brown was the pick of the bunch – a battle that left the Scala crowd gasping in disbelief. The boxing rounds between these two gladiators were action-packed but evenly matched throughout and the winner was always going to emerge from the rounds of chess – or so it seemed.

Woon seeks an opening

Both competitors established an early defensive strategy but by round 5, the clock was ticking against Brown with the Yorkshire man having less then 4 minutes on the clock versus Woon’s precious 7 minutes. However despite the superior time difference, Brown looked to have ground out an advantage which the Singaporean did well to resist.

Then in round 7, Woon began to take control, regaining a queen, as he put Brown on the back foot. The Singaporean was now in complete command and with his eyes fixed on glory he seemed certain to secure an incredible checkmate win. But at the last moment, calamity! With scant material on the board Brown found himself with no legal moves and not being in check, the referee called for the game to finish in a stalemate.

Honours even

The Scala crowd looked on in amazement at what they had just witnessed, Woon somehow scraping a draw from the clutches of victory. It was however the most appropriate of outcomes – the entire contest, boxing included, was a well fought out game of strategic chess. There was no clear winner in the majority of the rounds as each man countered and probed waiting for the other to slip up.

So whilst both combatants will no-doubt be disappointed with the result from a personal perspective nobody deserved to lose a contest that will be remembered long after Saturday night, and that will go down in the annals of chessboxing history.

Tim Woolgar, founder of London Chessboxing said : “ It was an superb effort from both fighters and I hope to persuade Ricky and Bryan to come back for a rematch next year. The Wild Bulls show was an incredible night with four great bouts encapsulating everything the sport is about. We had great boxing and some great chess and above all we had a superb atmosphere with the crowd really getting involved and adding their voice to the proceedings.

“Chessboxing combines serious sport with a seriously entertaining night out. You have to see to believe and once you’ve been to one night of chessboxing you’ll be hooked for good!”