It's chess! It's boxing! It's chessboxing! Quiz

Answer: "Froid Equate" ("Cold Equator") a comic book by Enki Bilal.

Even though Enki Bilal is apparently an extremely popular comic book author in Europe, your poor quizwriter has had some trouble putting together the plot of the graphic novel, and what chessboxing has to do with it. Two reviews allude to Egyptian gods and flying pyramid spaceships, a protagonist named Niko, and plans to possess his body and mind. Sounds gripping!

Answer: Berlin, Germany

In a Berlin art gallery named "Platoon," "Iepe the Joker" squared off against "Luis the Lawyer," vying for the open position of world middleweight chessboxing champion. Though the battle was hard-fought, Rubingh won. As he put it, "I had a pretty terrible position on the board so in the last round I tried to knock him [Luis] out.

He only just managed to stay on his feet. The bell went and he put his hands up in the air but he couldn't find his corner. He was really dizzy but we still had to play the final round of chess.

There was a clear win for him, but he just couldn't figure out the right moves."

Answer: Alternating short rounds of speed chess and boxing.

Rubingh felt that the original idea of chessboxing that Bilal came up with, a 12-round heavyweight boxing fight and then a game of chess, would be too hard on the spectators because it could last up to five hours. Instead, he alternated rounds of boxing with rounds of chess, to shorten the match and give both aspects of the game equal importance.

There are a total of 11 rounds, with 6 rounds of chess at 4 minutes each, and 5 rounds of boxing at 2 minutes each.

Answer: Either a knockout in the ring or a checkmate on the board.

According to World Chessboxing Association regulations, a chessboxing match is decided either by a checkmate or exceeding the time limit in the chess round, knockout in the boxing round, retirement of the opponent, or referee decision in the boxing round. If the chess game ends in a stalemate, the player with the higher boxing score wins. If the score there is equal, the player with the black pieces wins.

Answer: You must have an ELO rating of at least 1800, have participated in 20 boxing matches.

According to the World Chessboxing Organization, in order to participate in championship fights, you must also be younger than 35 and be in exceptional physical condition. If for some reason you haven't established a rating in the chess ELO rating system, never fear-- their chess trainer can test your skills online!

Answer: Tree chess (climbing a tree, then playing chess at the top)

The basic idea in chessboxing training is to combine extreme physical strain with rounds of chess.

Answer: Yes

Chessboxing is certainly open to women, and some women have even begun training as chessboxers. According to the World Chessboxing Association, "women think chessboxing is sexy."

Answer: Anger management

As Iepe Rubingh explained in an interview, "We teach people like how to cope within a difficult situation, and still be able to think. You know, it's a lot about aggression management. So, this is, this is the main thing in chess boxing, that's why we say, fighting is done is done in the ring at war, so what you doing in the bar? So you don't fight on the street, or in the bars."

Answer: True

This continues the theme of chessboxing as a way to promote anger management-- taking out one's aggression in a regulated context.

Answer: Berlin

The apartment is actually located in the last apartment building built by the GDR, and hosts champion chessboxers from around the world.