Local Sport

Chess-boxing: The hardest part is holding the pieces

Exeter man Andrew Costello is facing his first bout of Chess-Boxing in Berlin against Italian Gianluca Sirci this Saturday in a meeting of brains and brawn.

The 'fights' consist of a four minute round of chess, followed by a three minute round of boxing and vice versa until six rounds of chess and five rounds of boxing have been played.

"A friend told me it was popular in Europe and knew that I boxed and was a junior chess champion [...] I thought he was winding me up," said 35-year-old Costello of the sport.

"One possible game plan is to unload on the guy at the end of the round not just to affect the scorecards but also to affect his head for the chess game," Costello said.

"If the boxing is going bad then I would have to push harder for the check mate or vice versa."

Other sports that are being combined include 'Clay Pigeon Javelin', '3-Legged 100m Sprint' and the ever popular 'Horseback-Squash'.

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