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PODCAST EP107: Lawrence Trent (part 2)

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In part 2 of the Lawrence Trent interview we learn about Mogul Chessboxing, Magnus Carlson commentating on the show and an emotional exchange about Lawrence’s friend Iepe Rubingh.

If feels like Mogul Chessboxing is going to launch the sport to a new level of popularity and Lawrence believe that it is likely wold number one Magnus Carlsen will commentate on the show. Norway seems to have become a centre for chess and Chessboxing Nation have two Norwegian combatants who will be part of a main stream TV show on NRK show in 2023 with Olympic gold medalist Birk Ruud fighting. Lawrence was stopped in the sauna in Oslo and recognised as a chess commentator showing how much the sport has grown in Norway. Lawrence tells us about a night out he had with Magnus Carlsen who is now a super star in the country.

Chessboxing is in its infancy but if Mogul Chessboxing gets millions of views as it is likely to, there is no reason why the sport cannot be launched into popular culture for the first time. Boxing is experiencing incredible growth, YouTubers are brining eyeballs to chessboxing and chess itself has and is exploding. Will Chessboxing become a commercially legitimate sport?

Lawrence gives us an insight into his relationship with Iepe Rubingh and how his sudden passing effected him. He wants to help fulfil Iepe’s legacy and do justice to Iepe’s commitment to the sport. It’s hard to see how Iepe’s space in the sport could be filled and the pod talks about him as a personality and a bon vivant. The pod discussed the film By Rook or Left Hook and the first ever chessboxing fight in Amsterdam. Iepe was the glue that kept the sport together and the pod hopes that it can be brought together once again.

Will Lawrence fight again and become a serial chessboxer? He wouldn’t want to fight Simon Williams because according to Lawrence he is a “hard B*^+stard”. Carl Strugnell is a tough proposition and it may take some time for Lawrence to attain that kind of experience. He would rather fight some of the top chess player with less boxing experience, someone like Hikaru Nakamura. However, he doesn’t want to look too far ahead and focus on the fight in December.

The pod talks about the Chessboxing Paris event that Carl Strugnell fought in. Both Lawrence and Gavin were very concerned about Carl’s safety as he was hanging on for many of the boxing rounds. Will we see Ludwig in the chessboxing ring, he seems to be a young fit guy. Lawrence wonders why Ludwig is doing this event, the pod speculates that it is a way of Ludwig differentiating his event from similar youtube star boxing events.

To what extent are the other chessboxers on the card training and how much experience do they have? Will the general level of the boxing be decent or not and does that matter? There doesn’t appear to be a lot of information about the show, is this a tactic to create suspense in the youtube audience?

What is Lawrence’s favourite chocolate bar – find out. Name check for Kabaddi star Felix “Intense” Li.

How does the fear of a fight motivate one to get fit, improve diet and give up the source? Lawrence is taking everything very seriously but is looking forward to a beer in LA after the show.

Twitter @LawrenceTrentIM
Instagram: @Lawrence.trent

Mogul Chessboxing Stream: @Ludwig

@Ludwigahgren Mogul Chessboxing Championship LINE UP:

Fiction vs. Kalindi
Joshman vs. Spud

@Myth_YT vs @BoyBoyProductions
@DisguisedToast vs. @PointCrow
@AbroadinJapan vs. @papaplatte
@stanz vs. @BoxBoxLoL
@SardocheLol vs. @Tophbbq

GM Aman Hambleton vs. IM Lawrence Trent

SUBSCRIBE | NEXT LIVE STREAM 10TH DECEMBER: www.youtube.com/chessboxing

Chessboxing Classes: https://chessboxingnation.com/classes

Get your tickets for our next show here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/chessboxing-nation-9876871498

#chessboxing #chess #boxing #Finland #nordicchessboxing #chessboxingnation #event #entertainment #battle #fighters #competition #fight #fitness #nolimit #motivation #training #knockout #strategy #box #boxeo #checkmate #boxfit #highlights #king #champion #winner #chessboard #chessplayer #berserker

PODCAST EP106: Lawrence Trent (part 1)

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Mogul Chess Boxing headliner Lawrence Trent on the technique of opponent GM Aman Hambleton – or lack of!

Not only has Lawrence been training but also trying to make weight and has lost 10kg – not bad for an old man. Strength and conditioning using youtube using @GervontaDavisTV and some of the Dagestani boys (@MMALEAKS) as well. At 5′ 11” and around 85kg is a much better weight for Lawrence’s frame and losing the lockdown tire is something both Lawrence and Gavin have dealt with. Mobility in the ring has improved as well, and the additional stamina that cardio provides will be crucial for the fight. Lawrence has picked up a couple of niggles including a knee injury but he’s been able to switch out his road work for swimming and cycling. With still another 6 or 7 weeks left of training Lawrence is confident that he will be in shape of the fight as well as making weight.

the pod talks about Lawrence’s chessboxing commentary career for both Chessboxing Nation and one of Iepe Rubingh’s last events in Amsterdam. Being in the ring was never on the agenda and Lawrence has never been in the ring before. Lawrence started chessboxing in the gym in Berlin in 2019 with Iepe and he’s been a fan of boxing since a child. He grew up with the #EvanderHolyfield fights and #LennoxLewis. The guys discuss Lawrence’s technique as illustrate in one of his promo videos. He has been focussing on the fundamentals of boxing with his Cuban coach (Edwardo) in Berlin. His training is based on footwork and getting the simple things right with modest self reflection.

GM Aman Hambleton is part of the youtube sensation, @chessbrah and they recently released a video showing Aman training down the gym using the heavy bag. Lawrence doesn’t believe that Aman could possibly be as bad as the technique shown in the video. Lawrence believes that he is faking his technique, it’s #fakenews, lulling him into a false sense of security. The pod talks about Jonathan Arnott and his bout as part of the Brexit Belt. However, Lawrence isn’t going to be fooled and will continue his full on training.

Chessboxing nation has a Cuban connection in referee Reinaldo Dominguez as well as a connection to Lawrence’s club Juliana Barron is fighting in London out of Chess Boxing Club Berlin.

We find out more detail about the Ludwig’s Mogul Chessboxing Championship. The fight is taking place in the Galen Centre in LA in front of 52,000 fans! Many of the fighters are mega stars on social media, youtube channel @Myth_YT has got 4.5m subscribers. Chessboxing Nation’s youtube channel has tripled in subscribers since the event was announced. Well over 10m subscribers between the combatants – huge potential.

Lawrence is hoping to train out in LA with @TonyJeffries1 a few weeks before the event and he is building his team out there. Lawrence is headlining and on last, how is he going to stay calm?

@Ludwigahgren Mogul Chessboxing Championship LINE UP:

Fiction vs. Kalindi
Joshman vs. Spud

@Myth_YT vs @BoyBoyProductions
@DisguisedToast vs. @PointCrow
@AbroadinJapan vs. @papaplatte
@stanz vs. @BoxBoxLoL
@SardocheLol vs. @Tophbbq

GM Aman Hambleton vs. IM Lawrence Trent

Interview with Jonathan Arnott ahead of The Brexit Belt fight with Toby White: https://chessboxingnation.com/podcast-ep18-jonathan-arnott/

SUBSCRIBE | NEXT LIVE STREAM 10TH DECEMBER: www.youtube.com/chessboxing

Chessboxing Classes: https://chessboxingnation.com/classes

Get your tickets for our next show here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/chessboxing-nation-9876871498

#chessboxing #chess #boxing #Finland #nordicchessboxing #chessboxingnation #event #entertainment #battle #fighters #competition #fight #fitness #nolimit #motivation #training #knockout #strategy #box #boxeo #checkmate #boxfit #highlights #king #champion #winner #chessboard #chessplayer #berserker

PODCAST EP105: Tommi “TNT” Mäntysalo

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SUBSCRIBE | NEXT LIVE STREAM 10TH DECEMBER: www.youtube.com/chessboxing

Tommi has been working hard and supplementing his chessboxing classes with the Finnish Chessboxing Club (FCC) by training in his local boxing gym. Tommi has had experience in performance but nothing like chessboxing and he isn’t planning to upstage his opponent Toto who is know for his big introductions. Tommi is planning something but we’ll have to wait and see what he comes up with in December.

Tommi is training in Helsinki and advises the Finnish government on how to manage unemployment in the country and get people back to work. He has been taking boxing classes for 5 years and he saw a poster in his boxing gym about chessboxing. During the COVID 19 pandemic he started playing chess like many people and then he got in contact with FCC and fell in love with the sport. Tommi and Gavin reminisce about the event held in Helsinki in 2021 which was a huge success.

Tommi is aware that his chess level is considerably lower than Anthony “Toto the Robot” Bourached and he will be working hard to improve his chess as well as effect his chess by winning the boxing. Team member Otto ‘Bismark’ Vihera was able to knockout Toto within a few seconds and he will be advising Tommi on how to handle Anthony in the ring. The pod discusses how Shayan ‘Shah’ Zarein Dolab was able to land a number of overhand rights. Anthony’s defence has been found wanting so this could be Tommi’s chance to gain an edge in the bout.

Will Tommi try to play and unusual opening in order to avoid any well known lines? The pod discuss how Matt Read uses the Orangutang opening to off balance his opponent. However, Tommi is not planning to gamble on this and keep his opening solid, slow the chess down so that he can effect the bout using his boxing. Tommi wants to avoid a situation where he has lost the chess game in the first round just as Otto did before him.

Tommi’s coach Ray gave Tommi the moniker “TNT”, Tommi is hopeful that it was because he is explosive! He will also be coming out to the AC DC song T.N.T. so that he can get some energy from the crowd. However, he’s not going to perform the song himself.

Tommi has been helping Gavin with his social media work and he used to work for one of the biggest social media firms in Finland. They also talk about VR and how boxing is available on the platform as a work out. Could chessboxing ever be streamed in VR?

Are the Botez sisters stalking Tommi? They did a chess stream with them in Helsinki and they also played agains the FCC. The FCC trains every Saturday from 3pm (link under). No experience necessary other than knowing the rules of chess.

What is Tommi’s favourite chocolate bar? Tommi has a message for Anthony, “It’s not how you get into the ring it’s how you leave it that counts.” Tommi will have his hands up when he leaves the ring.

Finnish Chessboxing Club: https://www.facebook.com/shakkinyrkkeily

Botez Sister: https://www.youtube.com/c/BotezLive 

SUBSCRIBE | NEXT LIVE STREAM 10TH DECEMBER: www.youtube.com/chessboxing

Chessboxing Classes: https://chessboxingnation.com/classes

Get your tickets for our next show here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/chessboxing-nation-9876871498

PODCAST EP104: Felix “Intense” Li

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This week we have the WCBA European Middleweight champion Shayan “Shah” Zarein Dolab and Felix “Intense” Li. Shayan and Felix spared in the training session earlier in the day and Shayan put Felix through his paces ahead of his bout with Francesco Silvestrin⁠. The sparring was a focussed session for those fighting and Felix and Francesco were able to test each other in the ring. Felix claims that fighting Shayan is like trying to punch smoke. Felix talks about his Kabaddi career in the world championships on the BBC as well as his European Championship victory.

How is Felix’s chess going? Now he’s not working from home he’s finding the time to play more difficult. Shayan lets us know his tactic for his victory against Daniel Rotta, who is known for moving quickly in his chess, as well as deploying queen traps. Richard “Razor” Frazer was drawn into playing quickly and he fell for a queen trap in the first round. Shayan also focussed on keeping cool and relaxing before the bout to minimise expenditure of nervous energy. Ironically Rota blundered his queen leading to an immediate resignation from the Italian. Going into the bout Rota had a perfect record and Shayan hadn’t won a match. Is a queen knight better than a queen bishop? Simon Williams thinks so. Shayan had the edge in the boxing so a balanced chess game was fine, especially when he was able to land a number of right hands to unsettle his opponent.

Felix talks about his first ever bout with Gearoid Veale in December 2021 and how he didn’t even realise at the time that he had lost a knight in the second round of chess. The boxing was a different story, Felix realised over time that his opponent wasn’t carrying the same kind of threat as he was. Regardless Felix was on a mission in the boxing knowing that he was losing the chess. Shayan cornered for Gearoid an advised him to move in the ring and avoid going toe to toe with Felix but the bout was stopped in the 4th round with Felix wining by technical knockout.

Should Felix be looking at Francesco’s chess.com account for clues as to how to approach the chess. Shayan was given Roger’s chess.com username from one of Roger’s rivals. Roger’s 3 minute game E.L.O. was over 2000 at the time. Shayan left everything out on in the ring for the penultimate round trying to knock Roger out and his last chess round he played with his head spinning. Shayan give’s Felix a few tips on how to stay calm before the fight.

Felix is excited about the rematch between Rich Frazer vs Dan Mayfield. Richard is looking fit and has been training super hard for the fight but Dan has a natural level of fitness. Dan’s aggressive style meant that he ran out of gas in the boxing and was able to hold on to win on the board. A new rule announced, following the Finish event Reinaldo our boxing ref will be able to award time penalties in the chess for foul play in the ring. This may make slowing the boxing down more difficult for Dan should he need to. Richard’s confidence on the board was a problem in the bout – he delayed his chess moves because he thought he wasn’t able to beat Dan on the board. However, the pod agrees that Richard’s chess is at least as good as Dan’s and he should go into the fight with confidence.

Olympic gold medalist Birk “Busi Boy” Ruud ⁠will be fighting TV personality Nicolay Ramm as part of the December show. Birk is younger than at 22 years of age compared to Nicolay who is in his thirties and also has the benefit of a professional training team. The show will be show on the NRK channel in Norway in 2023. Also on the card is a female bout “Killer Queen” Marie vs Juliana “Kick Ass Baroness” Baron⁠, the first female bout in london since 2014. Marie was unlucky to miss out last year because her opponent couldn’t travel due to COVID 19. The event is 60% sold so get your tickets ASAP.

Felix shouts out to his parents again as he did following his bout. He thinks his parents may watch the live stream. Shayan shouts out to the diving chess community and thanks them for a great evening with some interesting insights into the sport. Find out how chess diving works and what the pitfalls are.

Shout out to Ludwig and Lawrence Trent who is fighting on Ludwig’s Mogul Chessboxing Championship.

SUBSCRIBE | NEXT LIVE STREAM 10TH DECEMBER: www.youtube.com/chessboxing

FULL FIGHT:Felix “Intense” Li vs Gearoid Veale

FULL SHOW: Shayan “Shah” Doulab vs Danielle “Dada” Rotta

Dive Chess: https://divingchess.com

Chessboxing Classes: https://chessboxingnation.com/classes

Get your tickets for our next show here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/chessboxing-nation-9876871498

PODCAST EP103: Shout out to Big Mumma

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Crowd favourites Rasel “Dazzle” Alam is in the studio this week along with he opponent Andrew “Komodo Dragon” Haworth and James “Spice Boy” Corrigan.

Andrew both enjoyed beating Rasel as well as Rasel’s exceptional fighter intro, special thanks to Kate Gilbert. No one was aware that his James Bond entrance was also going to include Ruth from chessboxing Zumba fame. James Corrigan managed to catch himself before tripping on the ring steps, despite this he loved his intro and his victory against the Pawn Slayer equally. James’ opponent Andrew “Pawn Slayer” Smith let loose in the boxing and James was surprised to see such aggression.

Rasel shouts out to Big Mumma and promises to buy her some chocolates and flowers. Her support provides Rasel with the impetus to take chessboxing to another level. Rasel has improved considerably at chess thanks to chess training from Matt Read. Read has made Alam hard to beat on the chess but ultimately he succumbed to Haworth’s chess game. That said Haworth claims that he was never worried about the chess despite this improvement. Haworth was shell-shocked by the first round of boxing when he was exposed to the full wrath of Rasel “Dazzle”. Haworth did manage to land one or two great shots producing a very compelling bout.

Smith vs Corrigan bout was exceptionally well match but Andrew failed to manage his chess clock effectively. As a good chess player should Smith have realised that he was about to run out of time.

Shayan “Shah” Dolab boxed exceptionally well and put in a much better performance than last time out against Toto the Robot. Daniele Rota not only lost his WCBA European belt on the night but he also lost his Italian belt 6 days later. There was some confusion about whether or not Rota’s victories were transferred to Dolab after this bout (they were not).

The battle of the Mr Tickles was a nip and tuck affair with Read coming back from a losing position only to fall at the last hurdle. A very well matched affair with the match going down to the wire, it’s clear that Dan “The Wall” Hall will have a long and successful career in the chessboxing ring.

Finally the pod talks about the highlight of the evening – dancing in the ring! Did Gavin actually promise Rasel pizza? It seems he was distracted by his intro, Ruth and pizza throughout the event.

Will Rasel fight for pizza – probably. Call out from Tommi in Helsinki for Andrew Haworth. Shout out to Juliana Barron, we would love to have you on our show in December. Call out for Andrew Smith, James wants to see you in the ring again in December.

Chessboxing Classes: https://chessboxingnation.com/classes

Get your tickets for our next show here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/chessboxing-nation-9876871498

PODCAST EP102: Volfango Rizzi (part 2)

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This podcast deals with the controversy of why Richard Frazer’s chessboxing bout was stopped so early.

Volfango talks about the International Chessboxing event held in Vigevano, Italy. How did Danielle “Dada” Rota get on in the second bout and why did Richard “Razor” Frazer’s fight end so quickly? Danielle managed to lose two belts in the course of a week, one in London and one in Italy. Danielle move extremely quickly in both bouts only to blunder and loose the chess in the second round.

After capturing his opponent’s queen with his last move of the first chess round Frazer received 3 standing 8 counts within the first few minutes of the first boxing round. Inexplicably the bout was awarded to Frazer’s Italian oppontnent Marcello “The Sir” Gasperini without him really landing a clean punch. What happened with the boxing ref, Volfango is put on the spot. The preferred referee wasn’t available on the night so the referee was a last minute stand in who had just completed his qualifications. Volfango went as far as to say that the stoppages were premature.

Headlining was Filippo Gubbini vs Vito Borrelli in a high quality boxing bout with over 100 bouts of boxing experience between them. Gubbini is an exciting boxer who fights with his gloves down and the bout was worth of headlining.

The podcast moves on to the state of world chessboxing and how London and Berlin split to create two world governing bodies. There is only one person in charge of the WCBO and there has been some criticism of how the organisation has been run during difficult times since Iepe Rubingh passed away in the middle of the pandemic in May 2020. A united world chessboxing is still a distance away despite the change in circumstances brought about by the passing of Rubingh. Relationships are always at the heart of any organisation and perhaps this is the best way to bring the sport together. There are still some divergence of how such an organisation should be run.

What is Volfango’s favourite chocolate bar?

Watch the full event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBu9YSBsQJc

FISP round up of the show: https://www.scacchipugilato.it/ics-una-notte-stellare-in-piazza-ducale-tre-nuovi-campioni 

Chessboxing Classes: https://chessboxingnation.com/classes

Get your tickets for our next show here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/chessboxing-nation-9876871498

PODCAST EP101: Volfango Rizzi (part 1)

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This week we meet the Godfather of Italian chess boxing, Volfango Rizzi.

Volfango’s lives near Milan in Italy but he has also lived in England and Wales teaching as well as attending university. Volfango hosted an event in Vigevano including our own Richard “The Razor” Fraser. He has been involved in the sport in 2012 from a chess background and he organises chess events for young people. He met Tim Woolgar and Iepe Rubingh and began organising events in Italy.

Volfango and Gavin talk about By Rook or Left Hook and why Tim and Iepe never made it work. Volfango tried to bring the two promotors together in Milan three times but he was never able to solve the differences between them.

One of the facts that Volfango enjoys about the sport is that it makes chess accessible. Also, the way the two elements effect each other and how errors are brought into the chess due to the boxing and the conditions in the ring.

The pod talk about the show in Italy including the venue and living chess. They speak about the first bout with the rest of the show covered in part 2.

Watch the full event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBu9YSBsQJc

FISP round up of the show: https://www.scacchipugilato.it/ics-una-notte-stellare-in-piazza-ducale-tre-nuovi-campioni 

Chessboxing Classes: https://chessboxingnation.com/classes

Get your tickets for our next show here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/chessboxing-nation-9876871498

PODCAST EP100: Chessboxing Quiz

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To celebrate our 100th podcast episode we’re looking back at chessboxing history with a little quiz between the two Egghead victors Tim Woolgar and Matt Read. If you’d like to play along at home here are the questions:

1. Chessboxing first appeared in Enki Bilal’s comic book Froid Equateur. Froid Equateur was part of which trilogy of comic books?
2. What year was the kung fu film ‘Mystery of Chessboxing’ released.
3. The first professional boxer to compete in chessboxing was Terry Marsh, The Fighting Fireman. What is his world boxing title including the awarding body?
4. Iepe Rubingh organised and took part in the first ever chessboxing match. In which month was this?
5. The Robinson brothers first combined chess and boxing together in the 1970s. In which boxing club did this happen?
6. The Wu Tang Clan made the track ‘Da Mystery of Chessboxin’ ‘. Can you name two band members?
7. For one point how many ways can you lose a chessboxing bout? For a bonus point name each?
8. Heaven is a Saturday night at chess boxing according to Chris Levy and Max Gershfield. What is the name of the Black Mirror episode which features the same track “Heaven is a Place on Earth”, as the exit music?
9. According to the chessboxing database what is the record between Tim and Matt.
10. How many Chessboxing events have been held in London according to the chessboxing database?
11. Name the first female chess boxers? For a bonus point name the year they fought?
12. Jonathan Arnott hit the headline in 2017 when he fought Lib Dem ‘Toby Sloby’ White in London Chessboxing’s Brexit belt, losing by technical knockout in the first round of  boxing. He then went on to work for Scunthorpe Hospital Radio providing commentary on Scunthorpe United games. When he ran in the 2005 general election for the Sheffield Attercliffe constituency what percentage of the vote did he achieve? Clue: he lost his deposit.

PENALTY SHOOT OUT

Name as many chessboxers as you can with the letter ‘w’ in their title? W can be in their first name, second name or ring name.

Mentions; Eggheads, Richard Morrow.

Chessboxing Classes: https://chessboxingnation.com/classes

Get your tickets for our next show here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/chessboxing-nation-9876871498

Image by Pawel Gawronski