Did you watch “The Queen’s Gambit” on Netflix, then immediately want to learn how to play chess?
It’s OK, you can answer honestly. That’s what happened to Boston Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock, who recently revealed to WEEI’s Rob Bradford that setup man Adam Ottavino is the mastermind behind a group of players who play chess in the clubhouse.
Ottavino started the whole thing by bringing in a pair of magnetic chessboards once he learned Whitlock was interested in playing, and now Nick Pivetta and Christian Vázquez also are members of the Red Sox Chess Club. So is manager Alex Cora, who apparently plays at 7 p.m. ET every day.
The game (not baseball) runs in the family for Ottavino, who learned from his uncle. His daughter takes lessons, and he had a group going when he was with the Colorado Rockies.
Whitlock said he doesn’t think he “ever will be able to catch” the former New York Yankees pitcher:
“You see how cerebral (Ottavino) is out on the mound, it’s even much more so with chess,” Whitlock told Bradford. “I mean he’s a mastermind. He’s very, very smart so I don’t know if I will ever be able to catch him on the chess board.”
But even the master was defeated once, as Whitlock has a single win over Ottavino.
The Red Sox, on the other hand, have 48 wins, and they’ll look for another Tuesday night against the Kansas City Royals.
