RB Maroney Playing Chess Today

[PatsFans.com Article]

Ian's Daily Blog - Patriots runningback is spending his Sunday doing something interesting, as he'll be challenging area kids to quick-chess games.

Click Here To Read This Blog Entry​

 

[Calciumee]

Good on him! He could easily not do it, but is willing to give up his time, to bring happiness to a group today

Also; 'quick chess games', clearly thinks he is good

 

[mcgraw_wv]

I bet he takes a long time to decide which piece to move, only to dive into a pile of pawns...

 

[Pewsterbaby]

I have to admit, this totally goes against the grain of what I thought Lawrence had upstairs. I swear, the days before Super Bowl 42, I see him walking around dressed completely in red, head to toe, I thought,"My God. Fashion nightmare. What's this guy got for brains?" I mean, red sneakers, red knee-length shorts, red tee shirt, and a red baseball cap with cherries on it. When someone asked him about the clothes, he said he was trying to promote his nickname "Kool-Aid". Huh? Man, I guess. lol.
Now I see he's able to play 4 simultaneous chess games. I stand corrected. I'll do a 180 on my opinion of him from now on.

Know what? THAT must be the reason for all the jitterbug... ja ja ja jitterbug stuff in the backfield. Yeah, now I know all that stuff REALLY is Lawrence surveying the defense like a dang chessboard. He must be thinkin',"Hmm... let's see now. If this defensive guy goes that way, then ima go... oh, wait a minute, that could be a bluff. I better reassess his collaboration with the members of the left flank. Gee, my lineman pawn is also in the wrong square. Better wait for him to move over..." And then... too late. WHAM! Thrown for a loss. lol

Coach bill should strap a chess move clock with the two buttons on top to Lawrence's chest. Maybe that will get him to make a move already.
Maroney a real life chess master? Priceless. That kills me. Pretty cool.

 

[ahmed]

I bet he takes a long time to decide which piece to move, only to dive into a pile of pawns...

lol... gold

 

[PatsFanInVa]

"Mr. Maroney, you can't castle more than once... you need to move something else now... what's that? The rook. That's the one that can move side to side pretty much indefinitely..."

 

[cupofjoe1962]

Who ever said Pawns could not go side to sideon their first move , never saw Maroney play chess.

I can see those pawns dancing looking for the hole.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

yeah but pawns are the o-line

 

[Fencer]

If there's a clock on them, I doubt he's actually playing more than one game at once. Even so, anything which boils down to a public event in which you're playing chess quickly against some version of "all comers" suggests you know what you're doing at a chessboard. So it means something.

More to the point, I've long wanted to see athletes promoting COMPETITIVE INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS. Big props to Maroney for doing so.

 

[larryo]

I wonder if he opens with the Budapest Gambit?

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I wonder if he opens with the Budapest Gambit?

Is that a new formation on offense this year?

And good for Maroney. With all the arrests over the summer, it's nice to see a story about a player doing something positive.

 

[signbabybrady]

anything which boils down to a public event in which you're playing chess quickly against some version of "all comers" suggests you know what you're doing at a chessboard. So it means something.

More to the point, I've long wanted to see athletes promoting COMPETITIVE INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS. Big props to Maroney for doing so.

What he said...very nice thing for Maroney to do for the kids in his home community. If I recall from hearing things in the past Maroney is very active in his home community and ours.

 

[fgssand]

If there's a clock on them, I doubt he's actually playing more than one game at once. Even so, anything which boils down to a public event in which you're playing chess quickly against some version of "all comers" suggests you know what you're doing at a chessboard. So it means something.

More to the point, I've long wanted to see athletes promoting COMPETITIVE INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS. Big props to Maroney for doing so.

Yup - with all the idiot athletes that are not exactly role models out there.........would be nice to see some of the mediots jump on this and give some credit where credit is due.

Good pick up by Ian............

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Okay big stretch here, but a serious reaction too...

It doesn't surprise me Maroney has the patience for chess. A lot of the game is about waiting for an opening, and taking advantage of long plans carefully arranged.

I'm not USUALLY a big Maroney detractor, but the main knock on him is exactly that, the idea that he keeps waiting for all the pieces to be in place to make a stunning move, rather than the "get behind your pads and hit the hole" gambit.

Actually, hoping for a good year out of him... crossing fingers...

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I'll leave the two bit analogies between chess and Maroney's running style to those who obviously know more about both than I do .

All I'll say is that in an offseason full of stories about alleged rapes, drug busts and gunshots, the story of a starting NFL RB playing simultaneous chess games against all comers is a welcome change.

 

[fair catch fryar]

I've always thought football is very similar to chess, more than any of the other professional sports. Unfortunately for Mr. Maroney, all of the chess pieces move at the same time on the grid-iron.

 

[Fencer]

I wonder if he opens with the Budapest Gambit?

That's actually what I used to play. I guess it would be suitable for somebody who likes things wide open ...

 

[amazinPats]

I'm a tournament chess player, and can say that I'm happy that Lawrence is interested in the game. The chess club of St. Louis is run by a billionaire who is devoted to the game and is interested in promoting it. He must have worked out something with Lawrence. The ability to play chess quickly and to play four simultaneous games tells us little about Maroney's chess abilities, unfortunately. He apparently doesn't have a USCF chess rating (I looked it up.) Now if he could play a game blindfolded, then that would indicate that he's pretty good. I play blindfolded from time to time.

btw, chess is very popular in prisons, and I'm sure there are quite a few good players locked up.

As other posters have written, it's great to see an NFL player playing chess as opposed to visiting night clubs and getting into trouble. Kudos to Mr. Maroney!

 

[Fencer]

I'm a tournament chess player, and can say that I'm happy that Lawrence is interested in the game. The chess club of St. Louis is run by a billionaire who is devoted to the game and is interested in promoting it. He must have worked out something with Lawrence. The ability to play chess quickly and to play four simultaneous games tells us little about Maroney's chess abilities, unfortunately. He apparently doesn't have a USCF chess rating (I looked it up.) Now if he could play a game blindfolded, then that would indicate that he's pretty good. I play blindfolded from time to time.

btw, chess is very popular in prisons, and I'm sure there are quite a few good players locked up.

As other posters have written, it's great to see an NFL player playing chess as opposed to visiting night clubs and getting into trouble. Kudos to Mr. Maroney!

Well said on all counts.

My clearest indication that I'm not a competent chess player any more is that I'm not sure I could play blindfolded. (It doesn't help that the last time I actually DID play a blindfold game, we used English Descriptive Notation ... I've never fully made my peace with this new-fangled Algebraic Notation stuff ...)

(For those of you who don't know what I just said -- it's kind of like saying I played my best football wearing a leather helmet. )

 

[Triumph]

After Maroney and the kids are done playing chess, its back to LoMos to watch cartoons.