Training

Of course we train a lot of boxing in the club, and of course our members play a lot of chess at home or on the road. But that alone does not make a chess boxer.

It's the combination of the two sports in training and in combat that creates the Chessboxing magic. Beads of sweat on the chessboard, sandbag exercises next to white and black queens, medicine ball shocks over towers, chess watches in the boxing ring - all this is part of our standards.

So we work with boxing coaches (who of course play chess), and we get analysis from chess coaches (who, sure enough, box)... but we also have the first chess boxer who ever taught both disciplines in combination - and continues to do so.

So it happens that on some days of the week we do only boxing training, and on other days chess boxing. We do not train pure chess together - the athletes do this on their own, with each other or alone on the computer.

It's Not About Winning At Any Price

Rather, it's about thinking and acting playfully, supporting each other, and being spurred on.

It's about physical and mental fitness, about controlling adrenaline in pressure situations, about hitting as fast as an arrow and pulling quickly.

For some athletes, it's also about preparing for a chess boxing match in training. Others, simply want to stay fit and use their brains in the process. No one is forced to spar, we have enough sandbags hanging in the hall, for those who do not want to "fight".

We Chessboxers do not look back on decades of tradition: we develop it.

So if we think it appropriate we improve the fighting rules without further ado. And rebuild the training if we expect something from it. So that in the future the Chessboxing experience will be even deeper, even more exciting and even more comprehensive.

Because we all want to keep training. Every week.

Did you think otherwise?

Our Trainers

Eduardo Crespo (boxing trainer) comes from Cuba, and boxed a lot there during his time in the army, in order to be able to escape from the everyday military life there from time to time. So he has combat experience. At the same time, he played a lot of basketball. This means that he uses a lot of feints in boxing sparring, or hits without looking first (in basketball terms: "no-look-pass"). If you like to dance while boxing, come to Edu! Cuba's boxing tradition lives on with Eduardo in our club.

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Robert Rolle was already very successful as a professional boxer (German Champion 2006 - GBC Champ 2007 - IBF European Champion 2008) and continues that series as a trainer. On three evenings a week he is a competent contact for our beginners and for the advanced the merciless driver to higher performance. (http://www.robert-rolle.de)

Our coach Sven Rooch was chessboxing world champion from 2013, with a clean slate of 3 wins from 3 fights. His victories in pure amateur boxing, on the other hand, are countless!

Alina Rath the reigning Amateur Chess Box World Champion (2019, 2022). But she was also German Champion in blitz chess in 2010. She takes over the chess training on Friday.

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Arik Braun (chess trainer) is a chess grandmaster (GM) and U18 world youth chess champion. And because he doesn't look like a chess player at all, he is allowed to be a chess trainer with us. Arik comes from Southern Germany, and easily plays simultaneous chess against all 50 club members at once - and he wins all games - always. And afterwards he can remember every single move (of every game). Arik has already had a big chess boxing match, which he won.

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During the Berlin school vacations and on public vacations the Franz-Mett-Sporthalle is closed and there will be no training there.

Usually we move to an alternative location in the summer, which we will gladly inform you about by email.

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