So, a chess player walks into a brawl …

What game requires strategy and players to always be one step ahead of their opponent? Some might say chess, some might say boxing, but Matt Thomas says both. The 28-year-old Atlantan heads to India this month as the first American to compete in the Chess-Boxing Amateur World Championship.

Over three days, athletes compete in five alternating three-minute rounds of chess and boxing and win by getting either a checkmate or a knockout.

Thomas hopes to raise funds for his charity, Brawl for a Cause, which empowers everyday people to literally fight for what they believe in.

— Erin O’Brien, 360 Media, Inc.