Nikolai Sazhin

Russian Nikolai Sazhin became the 2008 Chess Boxing Champion of the World after beating German policeman Frank Stoldt in a match in Berlin in 2008. Chess boxing is a hybrid sport which consists of up to six rounds of chess and five rounds of boxing.¹

Fast Facts

1. Born: ca. 1989¹
2. Nickname: "The President"
3. Occupation: Student
4. Defeated: Frank Stoldt, age 37
5. Served as peacekeeper in Kosovo
6. Sport derived from futuristic 1992 French graphic novel
7. Chess boxing has alternating rounds of chess and boxing

Sazhin's Knockout of Stoldt

Stoldt said after the match that a series of body-blows in the fourth round affected his concentration and caused him to make mental errors in the chess-devoted fifth round. Sazhin, a 19-years-old mathematics student from Russia, beat Stoldt, who was nearly double his age.¹

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