In a song from the 1980s, the Austrian band “Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung” presented itself as a combination of Albert Einstein and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Under normal circumstances, the musicians would appear ready-made for stages as far away as the Copacabana. But they also seemed tailor-made for an unusual sport: chessboxing. This increasingly popular pastime requires both brains and brawn from participants. The rules are simple: two players compete alternately in chess and boxing. A bout consists of eleven rounds, six of which are contested in chess and five with boxing. The game starts with a game of chess, followed by a round of boxing, then chess again, by which time the competitors’ hands are often shaking. The match continues until one of the rivals is knocked out or checkmated. Originally, chessboxing was not intended to become a sport. It was conceived by the Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh as a type of performance art that drew on his seemingly incompatible passions for chess and boxing. The first exhibition match was held in Berlin in 2003, so 2023 marks an anniversary year. The sport for intelligent bodybuilders was so well received by audiences that it soon became a genuine competitive sport. The last World Cup was staged in Rimini at the end of October 2023. The Austrian musicians mentioned above have never taken part in a chess boxing match. That said, as their song explained, they had the brains of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the brawn of Albert Einstein! They wisely decided to develop their music rather than their muscles, and reserve their hits for the charts rather than the boxing ring.