NFL’S CHESS OBSESSION: BRAINS OVER BRAWN

If football is often compared to chess, some NFL players are taking that analogy seriously by actually playing the game.

Ten­nessee Titans cor­ner­back Chi­dobe Awuzie and oth­er pros are swap­ping hel­mets for knights and bish­ops, using chess to sharp­en their strate­gic think­ing and com­pet­i­tive edge. Even on Super Bowl Sun­day in 2022, Cincin­nati Ben­gals quar­ter­back Joe Bur­row was spot­ted play­ing before kick­off, CNN reports.

The trend has become so big that BlitzChamps, an NFL-play­er-only chess tour­na­ment on Chess.com, is now in its fourth year. The win­ner not only claims brag­ging rights but also directs $30,000 to a char­i­ty of their choice. Kansas City Chiefs safe­ty Justin Reid is the reign­ing champ, hav­ing dethroned Awuzie last year.

So why do NFL play­ers love chess? Accord­ing to Awuzie, it is not just a men­tal escape. It is a way to antic­i­pate plays bet­ter on the field. The faster he got at rec­og­niz­ing chess posi­tions, the quick­er he react­ed to foot­ball for­ma­tions.

Chess.com’s Chief Chess Offi­cer, Dan­ny Ren­sch, sees the con­nec­tion. “The biggest mis­take in chess is get­ting stuck on a plan instead of adapt­ing. That is the same in the NFL. You have to read and react.”

It is not just foot­ball. NBA stars like Luka Dončić and Vic­tor Wem­banya­ma are also get­ting in on the action. The chal­lenge of always search­ing for the best move, know­ing it exists but not always find­ing it, is what keeps them com­ing back.

Brains and brawn? Turns out, they go hand in hand.