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PODCAST EP122: Birk Ruud (Repeat)

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Olympic gold medalist Birk Ruud will be taking on TV personality Nicolay Ramm this Christmas as part of the NRK TV production Wonderful Worlds of Sports.

We catch up with Birk on his training camp in Austria on Stubaier Gletscher preparing for the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup the following week. He is training everyday for the World Cup and for his chess game and his professional training team has also included boxing in his regime. He is able to enjoy the chess on tour because he is playing in person with his best mate.

Birk is a professional freestyle skier and he won an Olympic gold medal in the first ever big air competition in the olympics. For his first trick he arrived at the jump switch (backwards) and performed a triple cork 1440 (5.5 rotations) with mute grab. How does Birk know when to release his hold and land his jump? It’s a combination of muscle memory and air awareness. He started working on his air awareness when he was only 3 years old.

Birk was able to spar with his opponent Nicolay Ramm under the tutelage of Emil “Valhalla” Meek. Meek was able to teach the basics of boxing and they even got a chance to spar with Meek. Birk was surprised at how technical boxing was but he feels that he had an advantage, his father and brother taught him some technique when he was younger.

Birk is about 10 years younger that Nicolay but he thinks it will come down to the chess. He believes that it will be hard for either of them to achieve a knockout given they aren’t experienced boxers but Gavin points out that is can and regularly does happen. When they played chess against each other he felt under a lot of pressure and Nicolay came out on top over a number of games.

Birk has a mental coach that he uses depending on how he is feeling coming into a competition. He is also into mindfulness and he finds the mental challenge of chess difficult but absorbing. Discussion moves onto tactics and how Birk can make boxing advantage impact the chess rounds. Birk will play a safe opening and move slowly to make sure he gets as many boxing rounds as possible. Toby White is known for a late flurry in the boxing round to try to unbalance his opponent ahead of the next chess round – will Birk use the same tactic.

Birk’s ring name is “Busi Boy” because he is a busy guy! It’s a mantra and reflects how Birk lives his life, taking every opportunity possible. NRK TV channel is making a costume for both Birk and Nicolay but he is going to try and be himself. The entrance is a chance to get into the head of your opponent, will Birk try to intimidate Nicolay with his entrance?

Birk knows that Nicolay is nervous for the match, confident in the chess but nervous for the boxing which has given Birk a boost. Nicolay is probably more fit that he is letting on because he is training for all the other episodes of the show.

What is Birk’s favourite chocolate bar is Kvikk Lunsj!

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#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 EP121: Oliver ‘The Revolver’ Ye

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What did Oliver have for breakfast? We get to know Oliver ‘The Revolver’ Ye ahead of his bout against Jack Sheard. Oliver prefers to manage his range to make sure he can land his jabs without being hit where as Jack prefers to fight inside and isn’t afraid of being hit on the way in. Jack actively shows his aggression the ring like Marc ‘Essex Bomb’ Sidwell. Jack has a slight edge on the chess with 1o0 point advantage, they have played once and Jack was victorious. Jack teaches chess in prison, maybe that’s where he get is poker face from.

Oliver is playing black and is planning to react to Jack, doesn’t sound like he has much of a plan? He wants to be flexible in his approach.

Oliver’s diet include an ice cream bar, cookies and cream and then has a meal in the evening – possibly a chicken bake. Could Ollie pick up a sponsorship with the ice cream bar manufacturer. When he’s not chessboxing he loves gaming but now that he has a job with a bank he has less time to do it. However, he has been playing spell chess on chess.com which includes power ups and spells. The pod talks about 960 chess, Fisher Random chess as well as 4D chess.

Oliver is a relationship manager at a large bank so his job is taking people out to lunch but he is yet to get a company credit card unfortunalty. Maybe the next client night out could be a chessboxing event?! A number of this co-workers are coming in to cheer him, in fact his whole department is coming in.

Shout out to Double Jab amateur boxing club where Ollie is training. Mention for Gerard ‘Ripper’ Reilly, could he be matched against the winner? Ollie is also looking forward to seeing Matt and David fight because they are such strong chess players and they are also in the heavyweight category.

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PODCAST EP120: Nicolay Ramm (Repeat)

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TV personality Nicolay Ramm is taking on an olympic gold medalist and professional sportsman, find out how he is approaching the bout.

Nicolay is a TV personality, presenter, comedian and journalist. Making a show called the Wonderful Worlds of Sports. Nicolay travels all over the world competing in the strangest sports he can find with a Norwegian celebrity and #chessboxing happens to be one of those sports. The 8 episodes this season includes sports in New Zealand, Indonesian and various places in Europe and of course London. He believes that chessboxing is the strangest sport on the list including a sport in Indonesia call fireball where they play football with a lit drinks can full of flammable liquid.

Jovanka Houska will be commentating on the show bringing another Norwegian connection. Nicolay is also fighting a fellow Norwegian, a professional sports man called Birk Ruud. Nicolay saw Birk without his shirt off whilst sparring the other day and he was intimidatingly ripped! Nicolay has a day job and his fitting his training in and around it whereas Birk has simply asked his professional team of coaches to include 2x boxing sessions every day. Nicolay is also training for all the other episodes and right now he is doing strength training, running and swimming for the world championships in ice swimming. Following the training session they had together Birk’s comment was that “Nicolay is quite slim for such an old guy!”

Nicolay has been training with Matt “Crazy Arms” Read on the chess as well as using chess engines to analyse his game. Chess is the only hope for Nicolay in the bout, or so he believes, he is focussing hard on the chess. The pod discusses other ways Nicolay can get thought he boxing rounds by using tactics like clenching rather than outboxing Birk. Nicolay’s tactics in the boxing is to stay alive! and get as much time on the chess board as much as possible.

Nicolay’s specialism is that he is tough but unskilled which fits in with his ring name. There has been some considerable thought going into the entrance and the stylist department of NRK have been working on something fun but we will have to wait to see how that looks. Both Nicolay and Birk are showmen so there is a lot of excitement about their entrances.

How has chess developed in Norway on the back of Magnus Carlsen’s success? NRK now follow chess regularly and it has become main stream. The Fisher random championship happened recently with Lawrence Trent commentating. Lawrence is fighting in LA and preparing for his fight against GM Aman Hambleton. The pod discussed Mogul Chessboxing and the likelihood of Magnus Carlsen commentating as well as the impact on chessboxing.

Nicolay will be playing chess with the Four Corner Club as well as training at Islington Boxing Gym and taking part in our production workshop with Kate Gilbert Talks.

What is Nicolay’s favourite chocolate bar?

Message for Birk is that Nicolay is a 33 year old dad, please take it easy! Nicolay is looking to get a checkmate in round 4, except that is a boxing round ?!?!! Haha

Shout outs to @nicolayramm @Birk_ruud @jovankahouska4 @davidhowellchess @fourcornerclub @kategilbert.talks @magnus_carlsen @ludwigahgren @amanhambleton @LawrenceTrentIM @Lawrence.trent @nrktrondelag

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PODCAST EP119: Minotaur vs Demontime

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Both Matt ” Minotaur” Colderwell and Dashiell “Demontime” Shaw had their first fight in March this year and Matt will be headlining on the next show, Oktoberfist 23.

Matt ” Minotaur” Colderwell has already won a massive trophy beating 72 entrance in his local chess tournament. He is hoping to add the WCBA British Heavyweight title belt to his trophy cabinet. Dashiell “Demontime” Shaw joins the pod from sunny Cornwall with a glass on red, enjoying a well earned rest after his victory over Matt in the last event.

Matt is a technician producing high-end audio equipment for the rich and famous. Dash is a civil servant in the department of leveling up. Did Demotime live up to his name, how quickly was he moving his pieces? During their chess game Matt was attacking down the king side but the break eventually came on the queen side. Matt missed a chance to bring his knight into a better position after an initial retreat. He was unable to cause Dash many practical problems and the passive nature of his play allowed Dash to move rapidly and dominate the game. You can see the whole game on the chessboxing database HERE.

In preparing for the bout Matt and Dash played each other twice resulting in a win each. Dash praises Matt’s blitz game and as someone who knows his theory. Listen hard chess nerds, the chat moves into overdrive – discussions of the
Ulvestad Variation, reverse Venco, Ruso gambit and the Benoni.

Dash doesn’t believe that the boxing impacted his chess but he did suffer from pre-bout nerves. Playing chess in the ring was a daunting prospect, but once he made it pasts his intro and off the stage his nerves melted away and he was able to focus on the chess. He even enjoyed Matt’s ring walk.

Matt appeared to be a natural showman and admits that it was the most fun part of the evening. Matt was trying to be as terrifying as possible to undermine Dashiell’s confidence but it only made him stronger, rising to the occasion in a big way. Dash’s confidence was so high in fact, we saw him doing a head wobble in the second round of boxing.

Matt’s boxing was active with good variation in what he was throwing but Dash seemed to weather the storm well. Dash was worries about Matt’s reach advantage and planned to cover up, keep a high guard and allow Matt to throw the majority of punches, counting with an overhand. Round 2; Matt started throwing more to the body, under Dash’s high guard. Matt landed a sweet uppercut resulting in a grunt from Dash following which he didn’t walk back to the correct corner. Matt was waiting for Dash to drop the ball in the chess but it never happened.

Dash did manage to give Matt a leg wobble and one point but could follow up to press his advantage. There was goading on both sides, Matt smashing his gloves together after each overhand from Dash.

It was a complete chessboxing bout, the intros were great, the chess was high level and the boxing was entertaining. Dash manages to catch the Ruth vs Danlie fight which saw them trading a lot of punches. Dash was supporting Gerry but he met his match against Maarten. Shayan went down to Andre and it was a shame it finished so quickly with quite a cheap tactic in the end. Andre was able to get a lot of activity on the board and made it very difficult for Shayan who wasn’t able to make his good start in the boxing count.

Shout out to Dele Martins who cornered Dash and is fighting on our next show on the 7th of October. Dash was also greatfull for advise from cornerman Ralph. Ray Barrow and Caz from his local boxing gym trained Matt even though they had no idea what was happening in the chess. Dash mentioned how effective their advise was given how hard he found the second round.

Matt’s favourite chocolate is Montezuma dark chocolate and also a Boost – absolute filth. No chocolate for Dash, he’s maxing out on the sea food down on Cornwall…

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PODCAST EP118: Maarten ‘Machine’ Kamerling

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The podcast catches up with Maarten ‘Machine’ Kamerling following his victory in London in March. Is he the nicest guy in Chessboxing?

Maarten is fresh from a sketchy club in Amsterdam, showing his friends from Canada what the city has to offer. Was Maarten’s friend even more relaxed that than even him? The pods assesses whether or not Maarten is the most relaxed guy in chessboxing and how stressed Gavin was at the event in March. The fight was Maarten’s first experience of London and the first chess boxing show he has seen or been to in London even though he was made aware of chessboxing via London Chessboxing. Even thought he as the outsider from the Netherlands everyone made him feel right at home.

How do you engender a accepting and welcoming culture in a sport like chessboxing? From Tim Woolgar to a natural filter that mean only a certain type of openminded person is likely to attend a chessboxing event of session. How does Maarten see chess boxing develop in the Netherland? He is organising a fight in Amsterdam in September so watch out for information about that.

Maarten is a freelance marketeer for international businesses including handwriting robots?!! There is a huge market available for chessboxing and the pod talk about the LA and how entertaining it was. Maarten was a boxing referee for some of the bouts. Ludwig Ahgren produced the show and he was able to keep the show fast moving and engaging at all times. Matt Thomas was a commentator on the LA show and Maarten could be commentating in Amsterdam as well as possibly fighting.

What was it like to be part of the LA chess boxing production? Maarten arrived jet lagged and was shocked a seeing people doing meth on the subway! The whole show was incredible and over the top, bigger, better and more outrageous than anything else. The arena was huge, at the Galen Centre with massive screens and a huge audience on line.

The pod goes on to talk about Maarten’s fight with Gerry Anderson which is posed on www.chessboxing.info. Maarten was relaxed going into the middle game but lost his rook and was annoyed with himself not Gerry going into the boxing with an aggressive facial expression to match. There are a few other boxers who have a very angry face whilst boxing including Mark “Essex Bomb” Sidwell. Because of the chess he had to come out strong in the boxing to ensure that he got the win. Gerry is a tough guy and he’s from Glasgow, one of the toughest parts of the UK. Gerry was understandably disappointed that the fight was stopped but it seems that most people agree that it was the right decision.

The pod reminisces about Horse Attack’s outing in London where he took on accomplished chessboxer Nikita “The Razor”. Both fighter showed exceptional boxing skills, Sakari going down on the board via checkmate in the end. Maarten is fighting in Paris and looking forward to seeing Gui deliver another event. Maarten was ribbing Gui at the LA event asking if he was taking notes. Maaten may or may not be coming out to Aqua’s Barbie Girl.

Where did the chant of “Chess, chess, chess” come from? It’s now being hear at different chessboxing event and UFC apparently. Who is the Berserker and why is he like he is, come and body paint the Berserker at our next event!

CBN are back at The Dome on the 7th of October with two Norwegian celebrities including Birk Rudd, an olympic gold medalist. Birk may be more chilled than even Maarten. CBN are looking to do something with Nordic Chessboxing and planning an event in 2024.

What us Maarten’s training regime, how does he manage to maintain such a physique? Find out on the pod… also what is his favourite chocolate bar? What does Maarten like about London and Britain?

A big thank you to Maarten for fighting on the show and we hope to see him again soon.

Shout out to Matt Thomas and Nordic Chessboxing!

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PODCAST EP117: The Whole Ruth

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This week the pod is joined by Ruth “Insanitea” Slattery and Richard “Berserker” Evans-Lacey. Originally Ruth’s ring name was going to be “Ruth, the whole Ruth and nothing but the Ruth” but it was deemed to be too much of a mouthful.

We learn how other combat sports have a ring girl but in chessboxing we have a ring piece, the Berserker! Ancient chess sets like the Lewis chessmen used to have a berserker in the position of the rook today. A berserker was a type of crack viking warrior that uses to charge into battle wearing nothing than animal firs. They would work themselves into a frenzy by consuming magic mushrooms before battle. That’s wear the word berserk comes from.

Chessboxing is a lot more intense when you are in the moment. Although it looks relatively straightforward from the outside but is a totally different experience in first person. Ruth managed to get a standing 8 count until Jack, Ruth’s coach told her to “F*$ing hit her!” Ruth was thinking about the boxing whilst playing chess which broke down her concentration. It took a while her muscle memory to kick in.

Richard was fighting Andrew “The Pawn Slayer” Smith who was a much better chess player. Andrew gives chess lessons in the training session which give an idea of the gap in ability. Richard opened with the London System in an attempt to make the chess game as boring as possible. However, Andrew managed to off-foot him with his first move.

Ruth suggested that the chess commentators should have to do a round of chessboxing so that they perhaps aren’t so damming in their comments. Although the commentators were not impressed with Richard’s chess, importantly he didn’t mess up and was able to play through to lose on time. He managed two and a half rounds of chess and two rounds of boxing which he was very pleased with. Where was Richard’s speciality hook flurry? Apparently Andrew simply moved out of the way before it could be deployed.

The pod discussed the optics of the first fight, what a great way to start the show. It is agreed that Matthew “The Minotaur” Coldwell is a total legend and loved the event, he can’t wait to fight again. His opponent Dashiell “Demontime” Shaw was nervous before the fight but clearly enjoyed himself. Richard talks candidly about his facing up to the challenge of a physical fight, something he has carried with him for several years. Richard was able to prove to himself that he can fight.

Richard and Andrew rehearsed their WWE style contretemps to set up the fight in the minds of the audience. Andrew had stolen the Berserker’s mushrooms and then provokes the fight by pouring the mushrooms on the floor.

Richard points out that Maarten “Machine” Kamerling was carrying a lot of hotness advantage – “Bloody hell, did you see his muscles!” It looks like Richard will have to get in the man-crush line behind Matt “Crazy Arms” Read. The worst thing about Maarten is that he’s not only talented and good looking but an incredibly nice guy.

The pod discusses what the different weight categories mean in terms of punching power and the dangers of boxing.

Congratulations to Andre “Glenzman” Glenzer, the new WCBA European Middleweight Champion. Commiserations to Shayan “Shah” Zarein Dolab who had the edge in the ring but wasn’t able to defend Andre’s king-side attack successfully in the chess. Andre flew to London in March 2020 only to contract covid meaning he was unable to fight. His previous fight was won in the first round of chess so it was fantastic to see him finally take to the ring. The pod also discussed a new rule change meaning that there will always be at least one round of boxing in any bout.

Will they get in the ring again? Find out at the end of the pod what the Berserker and Ruth though of the replacement berserker (Gavin). This October we will have an Olympic gold medalist fighting on the show – get your tickets!

Shout out to Kate Gilbert.

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PODCAST EP116: Danlei Zhu

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Danlei “Pengting” Zhu talks about her victory in St Patrick’s Day Bash 23.

Danlei was born in China, brought up in Bristol and living in London across the river from Gavin in Canary Wharf. The podcast was recorded just after the London marathon and Ruth, Danlei’s opponent ran the marathon the year before – road work is how she stays fit. Danlei picked up an ACL injury so she swims to keep fit and loves her “bone conduction headphones” where she can listen to music while she swims.

Danlei is a metal trader in the city including precious metals such as gold. Sadly she doesn’t own any gold but she can give you tips on when to buy. The pair discuss the Brink’s-Mat robbery and how it relates to Canary Wharf and the docklands, much of which was developed using the stolen bullion. The heist took place in the 1980 when £26 million in gold was stolen form Heathrow airport, in fact, it was so much gold that as soon as it was stolen it was worth £27 million as the markets moved once the news was out. Although some of the gold was recovered most of it was laundered by purchasing the docklands around Canary Wharf and Rotherhithe. You can watch the dramatisation here on the BBC.

Danlei heard about chess boxing via a google search before heading down to Islington Boxing Club for a training session. Somehow Danlei managed to get onto a short film which won a Louise Theroux competition. Soon enough she found herself in a chessboxing event in front of one of the best chess boxing crowds around. Danlei found the waiting and build up more nerve racking than the actual fight. Luckily she was on first, along with her mates in the audience helped to settle the nerve.

The fight itself followed a well trodden path of initially good chess, with high intensity boxing rounds taking there toll on both players. Danlei wasn’t prepared for the loud music in headphones which she found distracting. The music is played in the headphones so that neither fighter can hear the commentators. The chess was very even, slow and attritional until the middle game when Ruth contrived to get her bishop trapped going a piece down. Danlei missed a rook on pre and the time pressure resulted in the last mistake of the game when Danlei was able to back rank Ruth. You can find the entire chess game at www.chessboxing.info.

During the boxing rounds Ruth did well to weather a flurry of combinations including a repeated shovel hook from Danlei which resulted in a standing 8 count. Danlei was dropping her left hand on occasion and Ruth was able to land several overhands. Both boxers had good punch volume, could Danlei go for 3 minute rounds next time? Maybe if she holds up on the beers and the burgers.

What is Danlei’s favourite chocolate bar? She has a soft spot for Tony’s Chocolonely – shout out to Tony!

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PODCAST EP115: Andre “Glendzman” Glenzer

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Andre joins us fresh from a sparring session where he has been training against opponents half his age in order to prepare for his fight against Shayan “Shah” Zarine Dolab. Andre will be playing with the white pieces; however, he doesn’t expect that to make a huge difference given the relative chess ratings of the combatants.

The podcast looks back at the pandemic and what that mean for training and staying fit. Getting back to a level of fitness was tough for everyone but Andre feels he is now back to pre-pandemic levels. Andre also played a few games of chess online during the pandemic with chessboxers from London.

Andre has been studying his opponent but isn’t going to be drawn into any trash talking (unfortunately)! He has been impressed with Shayan’s heart and that he in not afraid to box forward. The pod discusses Shayan’s technique and how it has changed over time. Andre has done some combat sports outside of boxing, but boxing is his passion and he has been honing his skills over many years.

Andre has fought in London twice and got as close as possible a third time but contracted Corona virus and was unable to leave his hotel room in London to fight Matt “Crazy Arms” Read in March 2020. Andre’s chessboxing career also incudes a fight with Mike “The Bedfordshire Bull” Bottley 10 years ago. Andre calls out Mike to fight again and reminisces about their fight and how good Mike was in the ring. All he could hear was his wife screaming for Andre to “hit him!” The British audience started chanting Andre’s name during the bout despite his German heritage, that’s when he knew he was in the right place.

The podcast get a little musical Easter egg from Andre half way through, I wonder what that could be?!

From the pandemic chess tournament and his chessboxing career Andre can be seen to be quite a trappy player. This is typical of his chess and how he plays in real life. Andre also plays very quickly and often his opponent will be drawn into playing too quickly and make a mistake. Shayan isn’t into his chess theory but is a savvy street player with a lot of experience in the chessboxing ring, more than Andre.

Andre lives in Essen, Germany and works as a cyber defence consultant for the public sector, a busy guy. He has seen a big spike in cyber threats since the start of the Ukraine war. Many other chessboxers work in the field of AI which is increasingly being used to secure cyber space but Andre’s advise is to focus on the simple stuff in order to stay safe.

Andre has trained with the Berlin Chess Boxing Club but he lives 4 to 5 hours away so he hasn’t been able to do that for too long. Perhaps if Andre can bring back the belt to Essen he could head up a chessboxing club there.

The podcast talks about Mogul Chessboxing and the impact on the sport or whether some of the show was even chessboxing. They speculate about the likelihood of Ludwig doing another show and whether Iepe Rubingh would have been happy to see a playstation as part of a chessboxing show. We are ready of the next show in LA and Andre is keen to fight!

Andre believes that this chessboxing fight will not end in the first round of chess especially now that there is a new rule giving the defeated chessboxer the chance to knockout their opponent in one round of boxing. Also the boxing referee will be able to give time penalties for foul play in the boxing.

Andre’s favourite chocolate bar is still Twix!

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PODCAST EP114: Matriarchal Cows

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Matthew “The Minotaur” Coldwell and the WCBA Mens Light Heavyweight Campion Richard “The Razor” Frazer.

Richard has finally achieved the retirement fight he was looking for beating Dan “The Tax Man” Mayfield is a spectacular headline bout in Christmas 2022. Richard discovered a fork on the king side which lead to a forced mate in two moves. Dan was the favourite in the chess and managed to press his advantage in the opening which Richard wasn’t expecting. Struggling to maintain a poor position it looked all over for Richard in the early stages. After a couple of boxing rounds Dan had gassed himself out and his chess level dropped, allowing Richard to come back into the match.

Who is the better chess player? Richard believes Dan is but not after two rounds of boxing which played out in the bout. Richard believed that Dan’s boxing had improved and he came out with a furious anger – did that impact on his chess game? Dan in the last podcast claimed to have “won the boxing”, referee Reinaldo giving him it on points; however, it also transpires that Reinaldo also told Richard the same. The pod discusses what Chris Eubank would have done in the same situation.

Find out how Matt is preparing to fight Dashiell “Demontime” Shaw who has a much stronger chess rating and the colour draw could be crucial to how the bout develops. Matt was sparring David Jarmany and managed to catch one of David’s overhands with his nose which promptly exploded. David is 104kg and Matt is 88kg so that additional weight may have made the different to his exploding proboscis.

London chessboxers went out to Paris the previous weekend and were lucky enough to be given tickets for Intellectual Fight Club. All the bouts were exceptionally well matched and the production was immense. Richard trained with Valentine and was impressed with his boxing. Val and Xavier were good enough to take us for beers on the Saturday after the show. Sergio La Veque was impressive as always and made short work of his opponent.

Matt sells high quality audio equipment including CD (Compact Disk) players. The equipment is expensive but worth it for your Bentley. Matt’s favourite chocolate bar is a Boost because they’re properly fifthly.

Pod talks about the women’s bout between Ruth “Insanitea” Slattery and Danlei “Pengting” Zhu. It also looks back at the amazing women’s bout in December between Marie and Juliana. Andre “Glenzman” Glenzer has already scored two wins in London, one in the first round of chess, is up against Shayan “Shah” Zarein Dolab. Gerry “The Pacemaker” Anderson from the Islington gym will be fighting Maarten “Machine” Kamerling and high quality boxing bout is expected.

Matt is questioning Dash’s fitness and Richard claims he has retired. However, he would fight Ludwig Arnhem for sure.

What does the pod think about Dan’s cow analogy?

Shout out to Matt Thomas from the US as well as Gui, Val and Xavier from the Chess Boxing Paris.

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PODCAST EP113: ChatGPT

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Francesco Silvestrin‘s ring name “The Brainiac Bruiser” was created by ChatGPT. What does Dan “The Tax Man” Mayfield argue about with his Grandma at Christmas? We learn that Dan also attended the famous Allendale town whiskey tar barrels festival at new year.

Felix “Intense” Li – fears and kind at the same time. Francesco had a kebab diner with Felix after their match – yum. Francesco was boxing backwards and handled Felix well managing the distance between them despite Felix having the upper hand for most of the boxing. We also learn how the spotlight and the nerves effected his performance.

Dan’s intro song was Heaven is a Place on Earth, Max “Jocktalk” Gershfield’s entrance theme. Let’s up that Max isn’t too pissed off and wants a re-match – there can only be one fake 80s man? Arguably Dan vs Richard ‘The Razor’ Frazer was the best fight of the night with a dramatic checkmate but is there honour in chessboxing? Not according the Dan Mayfield. Once again Dan claims that our referee Reinaldo Dominguez gave him a win on boxing points. Cow chat, the pod draws parallels between matriarchal cows and The Tax Man.

Who will win chessboxer’s chessboxer? Francesco voted for Andrew ‘Komodo Dragon’ Haworth and Gavin agrees. They were both extremely impressed with his improvement ahead of his fight in May. Dan voted for Matt ‘Crazy Arms’ Read, he has done so much for chessboxing.

Headline bout between Marie ‘Killer Queen’ Obegi and Juliana ‘Kick Ass Baroness’ Baron was a fantastic fight and brutal in parts. It also included one of the best entrances from Juliana, you can see the whole fight HERE. Also discussed on the podcast is Tommi ‘TNT’ Mantysalo vs Anthony ‘Toto’ Bourached, how that fight developed as Tommi grew into the boxing rounds. Will Francesco do it again? It took a lot out of him physically, emotionally and temporally.

Will Mayfiled fight Gershfiled or would Frazer be a better match for Max in the first instance. Yet again Dan claims he beat Max on the boxing, he is undefeated in boxing apparently.

Francesco’s favourite chocolate bar is a Kinder Bueno. Dan doesn’t eat chocolate any more, just beef organs.

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