It’s the NFL offseason, which leaves Ravens lineman/math prodigy John Urschel some more time to put his mind to work. This year, he’s taking a little time off from his PhD studies at MIT for some chess.
This weekend, Urschel is set to take on U.S. Chess Champion Fabiano Caruana at a Liberty Science Center gala in New Jersey. Urschel is 308 pounds and has a chess rating of 1601. Caruana 125 pounds, but he weighs in with the third highest chess rating of all time of 2870. The two will have to be especially agile, as the game they are playing titled Blitz Chess allows mere seconds to move.
On June 1, the rest of the world can challenge Urschel, and he gets a champion on his team. Urschel is set to team up with International Master Danny Rensch to take on any chess.com member who thinks they can beat the duo. Though he’s used to Flacco calling plays on the field, Urschel will have the final say over the moves in this competition.
Rensch will act as an advisor. He’ll also provide commentary as the two post their thoughts on YouTube to describe what they’re doing every five minutes. That may sound nerdy, but apparently Rensch is known for his “R-Rated commentary” as well as his gambits.
We may just wait for the ChessCenter highlights, which is another favorite Urschel pastime.
