Would move sealing make sense in chessboxing? Or do the chessboxing people explain why they don't have?

Question

In chessboxing, I think that every switch from a chess round to a boxing round is kind of an adjournment. Yet, I notice chessboxing doesn't have move sealing. Some ways a switch is not quite an adjournment:

1. Obviously, you don't have the night to think over the position.

2. As I understand, the reason regular chess (or chess960) tournaments don't really have adjournments anymore is because of computers. Computers are I guess going to be ruled out here. (I guess it's a rule that the cuthumans don't have computer access. But ok not really relevant maybe.)

3. Elephant in the room: Of course chessboxers/chessboxing players don't really necessarily have time or energy to think when they're preparing for a boxing round. All the more if they've just had boxing rounds.

Question/s:

1. However, if you don't really consider the boxing, if you're familiar with adjournments and if you take into account your knowledge on adjournments, then should it be proper for players to seal moves here?

   • (1.1. Maybe never mind the specifics e.g. moving player has 5 seconds to seal move. I think just focus 1st on whether or not players should seal.)

2. Or (Any of 1 or 2 to be answered is fine): have the chessboxing people (WCBO, LCB, FIDE, FIDE-WBA or whatever) explained why there is no sealing?

   • (2.1. Actually I think if this were the original question, then this might post might not have been closed in the 1st place because this would be factual and not argumentative.)

Thoughts:

1. I think the boxing maybe is not really relevant. Just think of any hybrid where you alternate rounds of chess and another sport/game. Whenever you switch from chess to the other thing, I think moves should be sealed or at least I think it's reasonable to consider whether or not moves should be sealed.

2. It's speed chess, so every millisecond counts. If I'm a chessboxer playing a chess round in a chessboxing game, and it's my move, but then the bell rings, then the clock is paused but I still get to think for a few seconds, even milliseconds while the board is being taken away and the ring is being setup for boxing. It seems that if the round ends on my turn, then I get an advantage. But perhaps this advantage goes away in that my clock starts on the next chess round.

   • Maybe a not so good example, but I was thinking about 40:53 in St Patrick's Day Bash 2020 | Bout 4: Here, white finishes a move just as the bell rings. White has already touched a knight, but I'm not sure White has any incentive to make a move with a knight for round end, at least in general. In this particular case, I don't think there's any other move to make with the knight.

3. I have pretty much no knowledge about adjournments, sealed moves, etc. I just saw this on The Queen's Gambit. (Not sure if coincidence, but: The Queen's Gambit was dedicated to Iepe Rubingh, the founder/creator/inventor of chessboxing!)

Thank you note:

I cannot believe this got only ONE downvote. Insane. Thanks all for the edits, etc. Thanks especially to Glorfindel♦.

Answer 1

No: I don't think move sealing would make sense in chess-boxing. I think it would disrupt the fluidity of movement between the two kinds of round, and introduce an asymmetry between what the two players have to do after the chess round.

Nor does the current situation give a significant advantage to the player on the move. Neither side has a chance to analyze the chess while engaged in the boxing which demands their full concentration. And can they can’t consult their friends or computers.

What part of one’s consciousness does one need for different activities? Speaking personally, I can drive safely while listening to radio at the same time. However I can’t navigate while doing both of those things. Where do chess and boxing overlap in brain function? My initial guess is that it’s best to focus on one at a time, with the main benefit of the boxing time for the chess is to refresh my mind so I maybe see something different.

The only time in my humble little life that I was called upon to fight for real (the famous night of my grandmother’s 80th birthday, when I was ambushed with my brothers and cousins by a bunch of louts as we came out of a nightclub) time slowed down - I had infinite time to think as I moved without conscious decision between the other apparently frozen fighters. Who knew that I could behave in this way? It was surreal, and fortunately no-one was armed. I say this not to boast but to illustrate that in genuine peril, emergency circuits can be engaged although I wouldn’t have wanted to play chess at the same time.

I can see advantages in being the last to play in a chess round, and also not being the last to play. Particularly as the match goes on and both players begin to deteriorate in concentration, forcing the opponent to be the first to play in the next chess round makes it more likely that they will make a slip.

Simillarly, setting up a trap at the end of a chess round could be an excellent trick. Will it be spotted by the opponent when they are just sitting down and getting focused.

Nor, as I mentioned in a comment, do I think that the last punch should be sealed between boxing rounds! The dislocation between rounds of chess and boxing is all part of the sport.

To see this sport at the top levels, here's a clip of Chessboxing World Championships.