Time Magazine recently turned the spotlight on chessboxing, a dual sport that's becoming all the rage in Europe and is fast gaining popularity in other continents.

Aiming to bring together the number one thinking sport and the number one contact sport, chessboxing is primed to become "the biathlon of the 21st century," says the World Chess Boxing Organization.

From Time website:

"It sounds like a gimmick," admits Hip-Hop Chess Federation founder Adisa Banjoko. But chess and physical combat are being merged not only in the U.S. — where Banjoko's group advocates combining chess and martial arts as a way to teach kids the importance of strategy and non-violence — but in Europe, where a bloodier version is flourishing.

The slogan for the Berlin-based World Chess Boxing Organization: "Fighting is done in the ring and wars are waged on the board."

The chess-boxing combo traces its roots back to a 1992 comic book, titled The Nikopol Trilogy, in which the men of the future box on a chessboard floor. The image inspired Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh to hold — and compete in — the first official chess-boxing bout in Amsterdam in 2003.

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