Rubingh has instilled a little punch, literally, into the strategic but tedious game.

Rubingh devised a new sport called chess boxing, based on a fictional book he read. Organized chess brawls started in 2003 and have been growing more and more popular ever since.

Here is how they work. The players switch back and forth from chess to boxing. The chessboard is wheeled into the center of the ring and the players try to beat each other with their brains for four minutes.

Then the board is taken away and the players don gloves and switch to beating in each other's brains.

The game continues, up to 24 minutes of chess and five rounds of boxing. A knockout can score a win for the whole event and so can a win in the chess. If there is a draw in chess the boxer with the most points is the champ.

So far, the sport has found its biggest support in Germany, where Rubingh has opened a chess boxing gym. It has drawn strong boxers from Russia, Ukraine and other Eastern European countries who apparently have enough brains to like chess but not enough to pick a less painful sport.

Still, I have to think there is a market for the sport here in the U.S. where instant satisfaction is what we Americans demand. Really, can there be anything more satisfying than being able to take out the frustrations of a bad move in chess by pounding on your opponent in the next round?

The sport gives new meaning to "knocking someone silly." Don't like violence? Think of the boxing not for its pummeling, but as part of a strategic maneuver to knock someone goofy so he or she can't think clearly to beat you at chess. Blurry vision would help in that endeavor, too.

As for those with more brains than brawn, I guess they can think quickly enough on their feet to stay away from the punches and prevail at the game board.

Still, when it comes down to brains vs. brawn, I think I'll side with the guys who have the brawn. I'd be more afraid to face a big Ukrainian boxer with a wicked punch than a scrawny guy toting a chessboard any day.

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* LYA WODRASKA can be reached at lwodraska@sltrib.com. To write a letter about this or any sports topic, send an e-mail to sportseditor@sltrib.com.