MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Russian athletes will compete under their flag and to the tune of the national anthem at the next International Chessboxing World Championship, Pyotr Zhukov, the president of the Russian Chessboxing Federation (RCBF), told TASS on Friday.
"The international federation [of the sport of chessboxing] was established many years ago," Zhukov, who also serves as one of the vice presidents of the World Chessboxing Federation (WCBO), said.
"The sport of chessboxing originated in Germany, so there are many federations located there as well as in other European countries. There is also an impressive number of training programs," Zhukov continued.
"Despite [international] sanctions, I personally remain one of the vice-presidents of this international federation, and I am also one of its sponsors," he said. "This is the prime reason that we are set to organize this year's World Championship - most likely in Armenia, but maybe also in Serbia."
"Our athletes are allowed to compete in full, meaning that they are allowed to participate in their uniforms, under the country’s flag and to the tune of the Russian national anthem," Zhukov added.
According to the official WCBO website, "Chess boxing, or Chessboxing combines chess and boxing into a unified sport. The fighters compete in alternating rounds of chess and boxing, with the chessboard brought in and out of the ring between rounds of boxing."
In line with the chessboxing regulations posted on the WCBO website, "The chess game is played with clock-times ranging from five minutes to 12 minutes per player, depending on various factors, such as experience or whether the fight is professional or amateur."
"Over the last 20 years Chessboxing has grown into a competitive sport with many specialized clubs and thousands of athletes around the world. The sport is particularly popular in India, United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, France, Italy, Finland and Turkey," according to the WCBO.