Bloodied, bruised and battered, the two boxers have just completed a brutal bout in the ring in Berlin's Mitte district and remove their gloves to face their next challenge: a round of speed chess.

Welcome to the bizarre world of chess boxing, developed in inner-city Berlin and featuring alternate rounds of chess and boxing in a fierce combination of brains and brawn.

Inspired by a science fiction book, the sport that emerged initially as an urban art event has grown into one enjoyed by many across three continents.

Boxers play six rounds of chess alternating with five of boxing as they put their physical and mental skills to the test.

Chess rounds last a total of four minutes, with the players wearing headphones to block out cheers, coaches' advice and the commentator's voice.

This is all about discipline and control of your body and your mind, said the sport's founder Iepe Rubingh, a Dutchman who set up the first club in Berlin.

Rubingh, a chess-playing artist, took up boxing in his 20s. It was around that time that he stumbled across the work of graphic artist Enki Bilal, whose novel 'Froid Equateur' first featured the sport.

I started quite late with boxing training. I thought about this sport and said: 'This cannot be done. You cannot play chess after a round of boxing. You are just not capable, your body will not allow you', Rubingh said.

Biggest Mistake

With huge amounts of adrenalin pumped into the body during the fight, a heart rate of 170 and more oxygen in the muscles than in the brain, chess boxers' limits are really tested when they take off their gloves and sit down, sweaty and out of breath, at the chess board.

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