2025-05-29
4 分钟The Economist Hello, this is Rosie Blore,
co-host of The Intelligence, our daily news and current affairs podcast.
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It's 9pm on a sweaty May evening at London's Scala nightclub,
and Hamza Buhari must knock out his opponent in the next three minutes or lose his king.
The 28-year-old pharmacist from London is taking on Lithuania's Tadas Siponis at Chess Boxing,
a mash-up of two sports in which competitors win by checkmate on the board or knockout in the ring.
The bell ends the third round, and Mr. Buhari is just a few moves from defeat,
forcing him to go for broke with his fists.
As Mr. Soponis takes a rain of blows,
the referee stops the fight, awarding victory to Mr. Buhari.
He's a much better boxer, I felt that today,
Mr. Soponis tells the baying crowd of around 500 as he embraces his opponent.
He's a much better chess player, replies an equally sporting Mr. Buhari.
Regulars in the crowd say they find watching chess boxing between men or women much more fun than either sport alone.
The first chess boxing bout took place in Berlin in 2003,
organised by a Dutch performance artist, Ieper Rubing.
Five years later, a breakaway British faction got going.