It's getting serious!. Reuters reported the story, CNN picked it up from Reuters, and now it seems like everyone is knocking it around. • Chess boxing: Brain and brawn: 'Bulgarian boxer Tihomir Titschko's punishing right hook and fancy footwork were not enough to defeat his opponent. Instead, it was the stocky fighter's mastery of knights and bishops that proved decisive in his successful bid to become the first European chess boxing champion in a dimly lighted warehouse in east Berlin.' [6 October 2005; CNN/Reuters]

How does chess boxing work? The fighters -- or are they players? -- alternate between four minute rounds of blitz chess and two minute rounds of boxing. A typical match has 11 rounds and starts with the chess. Since there are at most six rounds of chess, each player starts with 12 minutes on the clock. The winner is the first to checkmate or knockout the opponent. • Want to know more? See the World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO) site. Don't miss the video of the match between Luis the Lawyer and Iepe the Joker, complete with visored rappers and pretty girls holding big signs while they prance around the ring.