England’s national soccer team is currently in Germany, competing at EURO 2024. However, their daily routine doesn’t just involve playing soccer. For Harry Kane, a part of it is…chess.
A day before the tournament kicked off on June 14, Harry Kane spoke with GQ Germany, revealing the 10 essentials in his daily routine. Chess was one of them, with the English striker having a 1,200 rating on chess.com.
“Chess, is an important essential in my life, mainly because it completely clears my mind from you know, all the stuff going on, maybe if you’ve got some nerves before a game, I use chess to just switch off,” Kane said.
“I’ve only been playing for a couple of years now. There was a series that came out, The Queen’s Gambit, and since that came out, I’ve started to learn, and I’m about 1,200-rated on the 10-minute version on Chess.com. I think that’s ok!” Kane added.
The mentioned 1,200 rating is a Chess.com rating. Professional Grandmasters have a rating of over 2,500, while beginners receive a rating of 1,200-1,400. However, they often drop below 1,000, like I did when I started my chess adventure a few months back. So, I’d say that level is quite decent.
In the interview, the Bayern Munich player admitted he plays with his family and other teammates, including Joshua Kimmich. He thinks Kingsley Coman is the best at the club, though, he hasn’t yet had the chance to face him.
Kane isn’t the only soccer player enjoying chess nowadays. Last July, another renowned icon, Egypt and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, admitted his passion for the game as well. Additionally, he said he’d love to have a match against Magnus Carlsen one day, though, it hasn’t happened yet—at least to our knowledge.
