Before games, Millas plays speed chess and blitz chess with young pitchers.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Last week, Drew Millas walked over to the couches in the Washington Nationals’ clubhouse with a foldable chessboard in hand. He placed it on a silver table and plopped down in one chair. Reliever Zach Brzykcy sat across from him. A few other players — including Jackson Rutledge and Jake Irvin — crowded around as Brzykcy and Millas settled in with pawns and rooks, kings and queens.
Millas carries the board around whenever he travels. When he saw that the Nationals didn’t have games in the clubhouse, he brought it in to build camaraderie. Irvin hopped in on a game. Pitcher Matt Cronin, too. Paolo Espino told Millas he wanted to join.
“It kind of wakes me up before games, helps me hit, I think, too,” Millas said. “Ever since I’ve been doing it, I’ve been hitting well. … It really just activates your critical thinking. Thinking ahead, thinking before you do something.”
Brzykcy learned the game from his dad when he was a kid, then joined the chess club in high school. Irvin picked it up in his fifth-grade chess club but hadn’t played much until he saw his teammates playing. Brzykcy — who is dealing with a forearm strain and was reassigned to minor league camp Tuesday — and Millas play each other on the phone for extra practice, but Brzykcy called it “nerve-racking” in person.
“The biggest thing is, especially as pitchers and catchers, we got to be on the same page all the time,” Irvin said. “[Millas] does a really good job just interacting with all of us, getting to know us and what our strengths are both on and off the field.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/03/12/drew-millas-nationals-chess-camaraderie/
