It turns out that “chess boxing” is not only an actual sport but an actual sport that has been gaining actual traction here in the United States.

Chess boxing involves exactly what its name promises: two players spar in the ring for three minutes until the bell rings, after which they take off their gloves and go to the chess board for a time until they rotate back to the ring for another round. The match ends in a checkmate, a knockout, or a judge’s decision.

It began as a work of fiction in a French graphic novel, then leapt beyond the page into the real world in 2003, when the first-ever chess boxing match was fought in Berlin. The popularity in Europe only grew from that point on, but it was in Russia where the sport found its home.

Speaking with CBS News, Team USA coach Matt Thomas, the first American to compete for the world chess boxing title in 2018, said the “real battlefield is the minute in between the rounds.”

“Most people, on the surface, when they hear about chess boxing, they think that the battleground is the chessboard or the boxing ring. And it is. You have to be good at both. But the real battlefield is the minute in between the rounds,” Thomas said.

“The more that you can downregulate, lower your heart rate, dump the adrenaline out of your system, and let your amygdala chill out for a round, the more of your potential chess strength you’re going to be using in the chess round,” Thomas added.

Thomas led a team of American chess boxers at the World Chessboxing Championships this past September in Loznica, Serbia. Though Team USA put up a fight, Russia won the day.

“Fighters from 18 countries were at the September championship. Russia was the favorite, as chess boxing is a sport at over 500 schools and universities there,” noted CBS News.

“Through 75 fights, Russia won victory after victory. When Graif was up representing the U.S., he shredded his French opponent in his first match. He went on to face a German champ, but he lost on points,” it added.

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