King’s gambit?
Toronto-born Joey Votto ended the 2021-22 season with the Cincinnati Reds plagued by injuries and underwent surgery in August to repair a torn rotator cuff.
From our newsroom to your inbox at noon, the latest headlines, stories, opinion and photos from the Toronto Sun.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox.
But that hasn’t stopped him from playing his other favourite game: chess.
As the 39-year-old rehabs his shoulder, he has been spotted frequenting Toronto’s Annex Chess Club at 918 Bathurst St., between Bloor and Dupont Sts.
His interest in the game apparently increased during the pandemic, according to a media report, but he really developed a love for it, and played against someone in person for the first time in November 2022.
“First over the board chess tournament,” he wrote. “Wish me luck.”
Earlier this month, Votto shared an intense, mid-match shot, though, it is unclear if it was his move or his opponent’s. Nevertheless, the first baseman added a notch to his win column.
“Big, big win yesterday,” he wrote in the caption, crediting a barley soup he had for lunch as a catalyst for the victory.
“I think the soup I had for lunch helped carry me to my first chess win,” he joked, adding to all you aspiring chess masters that “it was barley.”
Last April, Votto met with former chess world champion Garry Kasparov and he was admittedly starstruck – even while he was playing an online game.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
“Shaking hands with the greatest chess player of all time, he looks at my phone and asks, ‘Oh, you’re playing a match? Let me see!’ Then proceeds to immediately sacrifice my queen,” Votto recalled in his caption.
“’Yo, whatcha doing bud?’ I think to myself. Then… magic! Bing, bing, bing, game over.”
Votto also shared all his moves in that game the way any chess nerd would.
Votto also revealed that another favourite hobby of his is visiting art museums.
-
Joey Votto breaks Larry Walker record for most MLB games by Canadian
-
SIN BIN: 'S--t-talking mother f--ker in St. Louis' — Toronto's Votto goes off
-
Iranian chess player was warned not to return to Iran after competing without hijab