Imagine a sport where you need the brutal strength of Mary Kom and analytical mind of Koneru Humpy. For the uninitiated, Mary Kom is a six-time World Champion in boxing and has also won a bronze medal in the sport at the Olympics. Koneru Humpy, meanwhile, is India’s first female Grandmaster and a runner-up of the Women’s World Chess Championship and the reigning two-time Women’s World Rapid Chess Champion.
Mary Kom and Koneru Humpy are champions in boxing and chess respectively. For an avid sports fan it would be unimaginable to see Mary play chess and Koneru land punches.
But there exists a sport which brings the world of chess and boxing together. It is chessboxing. Yes chessboxing is a sport and as the name suggests it combines chess and boxing. The competitors in a match of chessboxing compete in alternate round of chess and boxing and are declared winners either by checkmate or knockout.
Historical records tell that chessboxing was first played in 1970s. In India chessboxing started a little over a decade ago but the sport is steadily picking up in many pockets of the country.
Madhavi Gonbare, a fitness trainer from Mumbai, has been into chessboxing since 2017. She is a mutil-time world chessboxing champion. She has had the honour of representing India at international stage.
To know more about chessboxing, Madhavi’s journey in the sport and her upcoming chessboxing match in London, The Sportz Planet caught up with her for an exclusive interview.
Excerpts of the interview are below
How did you came to know about chessboxing?
Madhavi: I became aware about chessboxing through one of my coach Surendra Pandey. He told me about a chessboxing tournament. He took me to watch the tournament so that I could understand what is chessboxing. That is how I came to know about the sport.
When did you decide that you wanted to become a chessboxer?
Madhavi: In 2017 I participated in my first nationals of chessboxing. I was never a chess player. For that specific tournament I was taught how to play chess by my brother. He still teaches me chess.
So I already knew boxing and after learning chess I though about giving chessboxing a try. So in 2017 I participated in my first chessboxing national tournament. In a match I was in the third round and I won it by checkmate! It was a beautiful moment for me.
Winning the gold medal in the nationals inspired me. No matter what I had decided to continue in the sport.
Could you tell something about the sport?
Madhavi: This sport is a perfect balance of physical and mental strength. A match of chessboxing starts with a game of chess. Then it alternates between chess and boxing.
For chess we need to keep clam. But after the chess round we have to wear boxing gloves and start landing punches! We get punched. We also throw some punches. Then again we have to calm down for the round of chess.
That is how a match of chessboxing proceeds. There is something unique about the sport. You have to play chess calmly and then show your physical strength as well.
Please help us by telling some more information on chessboxing in India. In which parts it is played more, what are the competitions?
Madhavi: Chessboxing started in India in 2011 in Kolkata. Montu Das sir, he is the founder and president of Chess Boxing Organisation of India. He took the initiative to start chessboxing in India.
Chessboxing’s India headquarter is in Kolkata.
A lot of chessboxers are coming from Tamilnadu, Kerala and Maharashtra. Maharashtra has decent number of chessboxers. Every state has chessboxing clubs. In Mumbai there about three chessboxing clubs.
But unfortunately people are not aware about the sport.
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How do you train for chessboxing? Do you have separate coaches for chess and boxing?
Madhavi: For boxing I train at two clubs. One is Central Railway Mechanical Institute. It is a railway club. There I have my coach Ajeej Parab. I have been training under him from 2017. Then I am also going at Mumbai Boxing Academy. That is how I train for boxing.
For chess I practice at the Darkknights Chess Academy. There my coach is Ketan Patil. He is a great coach in chess. I am taking my chess classes under him. But it is my brother who taught me how to play chess.
You played a match of chessboxing against Lara Armas! How was the experience?
( Lara Armas is the current President of the World Chessboxing Organisation. She has worked on major international sports events like the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the French Tennis Open Roland Garros 2020, the Youth Winter Olympic Games 2020 among others)
Madhavi: For the match against Lara I traveled outside India for the first time. In that match, in the third round (chess) I lost by checkmate. She is a good chess player. She comes from a family of chess players.
You were also there in Paris last year just before the Olympics for an exhibition match of chessboxing. What was that experience like?
Madhavi: In Paris I was there with Sneha (Waykar) as her coach. It was a great experience. Because Olympics is the biggest platform. To demonstrate our sport on that platform was great. It is an achievement. To be at the Olympics is something every player dreams about.
I was very happy. There was a crowd of over 2000 people to watch the match. Hopefully chessboxing is part of the Olympics soon.
You have a chessboxing match coming up on 1st May. It will be in London. How are your preparations for that event?
Madhavi: I have a chessboxing match on 1st May against Italy’s Beatrice Desiree Furlan. I am excited for this event. I am grinding myself for this match. I am taking care of my chess and boxing classes. It is a big platform for me. I am blessed to participate in the event.
What can be done to make chessboxing popular in India?
Madhavi: We have to start from grassroot. We can start teaching kids who are 5 year old or 6 year old chessboxing. This sport is helpful for everyone but in kids it helps in developing thinking and the physical strength at a very early age. This will help giving a direction to the children.
I also feel we can demonstrate the sport in schools. Just one session in schools is enough to market the sport. I would like to work on something like this.
To wrap up this interview, I would like a message from you for young girls and boys so that they are inspired to play sports.
Madhavi: I have a small message. This has been my journey for last seven to eight years. I have participated in six world championships. I have won four golds and two silver medals. The journey has not been easy.
My message is for everyone, not just athletes. We have to keep a lot of patience. There is a lot of hard work involved. There is consistency. I believe consistency is the key. Your patience and hardwork pays off.
Prakhar Sachdeo
The Sportz Planet Desk
