Does Josh need to learn speed chess? Interesting article about how speed chess can help QBs

[Thurman#1]

https://www.sethmakowsky.com/2020/06/29/seth-makowsky-takes-quarterbacks-thinking-from-checkers-to-chess/

 

 

Right up my alley. Fascinating stuff. It's about a guy named Seth Makowsky, who's a CEO and a chess fan, though he doesn't pretend to be a master, who has in the past three years or so started training a bunch of QBs in chess. Particularly speed chess. And he has a ton of football guys who say it translates directly between the two. His most famous client is Deshaun Watson. Bucky Brooks is now a fan and says that since he's met and talked with Makowsky he's always on his phone on a chess app.

 

More, it's not just for QBs, guys at all position groups seem to be helped.

 

Here's an excerpt, about maybe 10% of the article (it's long and in-depth).

 

"One of the quarterbacks on Brooks’ 7-on-7 team at The Opening was an unheralded, uncommitted prospect named C.J. Stroud. A Southern California native, Stroud sought out Makowsky after the QBs were introduced to the chess coach even after some of his peers sounded skeptical and teased him about asking him so many questions.

 

“''Will you train me after this?' Stroud asked. Stroud met with Makowsky from 10 p.m. to midnight for a couple of nights. They trained on having a plan and a process, working through how all of the pieces and players work together in a complex environment, and seeing the entire board.

 

“'It was kind of a mind-blowing experience for a lot of these kids,' Brooks said. For C.J., it allowed him to come to the line and have a check off process. It gave him a way to organize his thoughts in the moment, without making it bigger than it is. And when it clicked, he was all in. He ignored all the white noise of the other kids laughing.

"You could just see that it unlocked him.

 

"Brooks’ team won the tournament’s championship by playing one defense the entire time — something he took from Makowsky.

 

“'Literally, that thought process transformed everything,' Brooks said. 'I told the players, don’t overthink it. Just execute. Just keep it simple. Always be on the attack.'

 

"Stroud completed around 80 percent of his passes for the event and won MVP honors. His recruiting stock skyrocketed. He later signed with Ohio State.

Even though a chess board is displayed prominently outside UCLA coach Chip Kelly’s office, Makowsky said the team’s bond with chess happened organically, with players eagerly gravitating toward and embracing the game. And many Bruins players gush about Makowsky’s impact on their development. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson spent two and a half hours with Makowsky on this first day at UCLA. Makowsky’s warp-speed games with Thompson-Robinson can get so intense, the young QB works up a sweat.

 

“'For me, five seconds is like forever, which is why I train these guys in that way,' Makowsky says. 'I train the brain like a muscle. Some guys want to have all the time to think about something. So when I put them in that situation, they’re sweating. It’s intense for them. They can’t overanalyze things too long. So I’m getting them be able to process quickly. Just doing the two-minute chess, it starts re-wiring them to know you’ve got to be okay with uncertainty. Understand that you’ve got to be able to move quickly, and if something goes wrong with fast, recover, recover, recover. And I’ve built that muscle up to the point where they start rewiring how they process.'

 

"Makowsky would typically come to the Bruins facility Tuesday mornings and he might be there until 8 at night depending on which players sought him out. Former UCLA cornerback Darnay Holmes took a big interest.

 

"A perfectionist, Holmes used to punish himself if he made a mistake. It might have been a technical mistake that only he knew he made, but he and Makowsky made a point of not emotionally letting it impact the next play. Their focus was getting him to always make forceful moves. That carryover onto the field meant Holmes playing more aggressively and being more comfortable pressing the receiver more. Holmes’ improvement was reflective in a strong showing at the 2020 Senior Bowl, and he was drafted in the fourth round by the Giants in April. Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Senior Bowl, said he saw a 'huge difference' and improvement in Holmes’ play in Mobile compared to his performance in his final season at UCLA."

 

 

 

 

I only wish he'd write a book about it. I checked; he hasn't.

 

 

Edited July 19, 2020 by Thurman#1

[Thurman#1]

https://www.sethmakowsky.com/2020/05/20/this-giants-rookie-is-mastering-chess-and-he-could-be-just-the-piece-the-team-needs-right-now/

 

Here's another quick excerpt from another (Bills-related) article on this:

 

 

"Darnay Holmes in a meeting room at UCLA, balancing on one foot, a dumbbell in one hand.

" 'Pawn to E4.' Seth Makowsky makes his move.

"Holmes has to think fast, and stay standing upright.

" 'Knight to F3'

"At their training session that day, in the middle of a game-week, Makowsky and Holmes, now a Giants quarterback, are playing a round of speed chess, with distractions. The aim: Get Holmes to make smart, quick, efficient decisions. If it works, it should translate onto the football field, too. Holmes said it does."

 

 

To me, that's hilarious and fascinating. Speed chess while standing on one foot and holding a dumbbell in one hand.

 

 

EDIT: Oh, holy crap! As I read further, I found that Darnay Homes is Darick Holmes' kid. Check this:

 

"When Holmes was 10, he walked into a hospital room where Darick Holmes, his father, was bedridden, shot seven times during a drug deal gone wrong. His father survived, and then Holmes thrived." 

 

I had no idea about this. And dang, Darnay graduated UCLA in 2 1/2 years. Jeez, I'm now officially rooting for him. A bunch of stuff about Darick in the article.

 

Edited July 19, 2020 by Thurman#1

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

23 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

"Darnay Holmes in a meeting room at UCLA, balancing on one foot, a dumbbell in one hand.

" 'Pawn to E4.' Seth Makowsky makes his move.

"Holmes has to think fast, and stay standing upright.

" 'Knight to F3'

A better move would be 'dumbbell to Makowsky's noggin, checkmate'.

*
I do agree that anything that sharpens the mind and fosters anticipatory thought could be a benefit to a player.

*
And no, I don't mean the Bills' forgotten WR, Foster.  ?

[BringBackFergy]

Interesting article. 
 

But if everyone in the NFL starts playing chess, what will Bill Belichick play?

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Just now, BringBackFergy said:

Interesting article. 
 

But if everyone in the NFL starts playing chess, what will Bill Belichick play?

Nip and tuck.

*
Next time 'Chatty Cathy' drops in, start yelling "queen to queen's level three, you have ten seconds to respond!" and see if she runs out.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Ridgewaycynic2013

[Thurman#1]

16 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

A better move would be 'dumbbell to Makowsky's noggin, checkmate'.

*
I do agree that anything that sharpens the mind and fosters anticipatory thought could be a benefit to a player.

*
And no, I don't mean the Bills' forgotten WR, Foster.  ?

 

 

But it's NOT just sharpening the mind and fostering anticipatory thought. It goes deep into mindset. But hey, you don't want to read it, that's up to you. I found it fascinating but everyone's different.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Thurman#1

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

49 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

But it's NOT just sharpening the mind and fostering anticipatory thought. It goes deep into mindset. But hey, you don't want to read it, that's up to you. I found it fascinating but everyone's different.

I'm not at all denying the method or your research, and I admit I have not read the full article.  My remarks were just being me being my irreverent (and irrelevant) self.  ?

[TBBills]

If he wants to in his off time but TBH he just needs to be more accurate and I know chess doesn't do that.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Speed chess is fun.   I used to play it at lunch with friends.  The only way to get a game over in 30 minutes 

 

Edited July 19, 2020 by SlimShady'sSpaceForce

[machine gun kelly]

1 hour ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Nip and tuck.

*
Next time 'Chatty Cathy' drops in, start yelling "queen to queen's level three, you have ten seconds to respond!" and see if she runs out.

Ridgeway, you and Sheldon playing three dimensional chess again in Star Trek garb?  Loved the Big Bang Theory, especially the early days with Penny.

[machine gun kelly]

Thought you’d like that Ridge.  It was too easy.

 

On a serious note, thanks Thurmon as that was an interesting article and I love chess.  Makes sense to teach speed chess.  I was never that good to do speed chess, but the parallels makes a great deal of sense.

[Punching Bag]

3 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

Interesting article. 
 

But if everyone in the NFL starts playing chess, what will Bill Belichick play?

 

Whatever game is easiest to cheat in.

 

I wish he would try to prove he does not need the cheating as much as he wants to prove that it was him not T*m Br*dy who should have got the MVP trophies.

[TigerJ]

I've played some speed chess, years ago.  I'm all for anything that leads to more people playing chess.  Then there might actually be somebody to play against.

[Nextmanup]

If someone would just tell him to to the throw the ball HIGH while throwing it FAR, he would improve dramatically.

 

I've never seen an NFL QB literally not understand the concept of throwing a deep ball.

 

 

[Figster]

5 hours ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

Speed chess is fun.   I used to play it at lunch with friends.  The only way to get a game over in 30 minutes 

 

Not for me, 

 

I'm decent in chess until you start putting time limitations on the moves. 

 

Although I can see how it would help a QB, especially one as intelligent as Josh Allen.

 

 

Edited July 19, 2020 by Figster

[Figster]

2 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

If someone would just tell him to to the throw the ball HIGH while throwing it FAR, he would improve dramatically.

 

I've never seen an NFL QB literally not understand the concept of throwing a deep ball.

 

 

I think Allen understands the concept. Allens arm strength gets in the way IMO. Most QB's can unleash a long ball with everything on it without overthrowing.  Both QB and WR are in sync with how far its going to go IMO. (55 to 60 yards) Josh on the other hand can easily overthrow his WR's on a long ball throw at any place and time on the playing field. (75 to 80 yards) The way I see it the more throws you can make and the more area you can cover increases the time/ practice it takes to gel wth the WR's IMO. In other words increased reps/ practice time needed kind of goes with the territory. 

 

Myself personally, Allen will learn to adjust and continue to improve his long ball throws over time.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Figster

[Malazan]

I've also heard this TB12 stuff helps QBs. 

[Don Otreply]

7 hours ago, TBBills said:

If he wants to in his off time but TBH he just needs to be more accurate and I know chess doesn't do that.

I get your point, but he is accurate, we have all seen him throw darts into small windows throughout the season, can’t do that if your not accurate, what he needs to work on is consistency, and anticipation. For those two things to get better, he has to trust that his receivers will make a play on the ball every time he throws the ball, and that the receivers do just that. I think the game has not slowed down all the way for him just yet, but I believe he is close. Here’s to seeing Josh make those steps this season. ?

 

Go Bills!!!

 

 

[Augie]

10 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

Interesting article. 
 

But if everyone in the NFL starts playing chess, what will Bill Belichick play?

 

Either 4D chess, or checkers......that could go either way. Or maybe make chess look like checkers?

 

Will this speed up the eyes?

 

 

. 

Edited July 19, 2020 by Augie

[Figster]

55 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

I get your point, but he is accurate, we have all seen him throw darts into small windows throughout the season, can’t do that if your not accurate, what he needs to work on is consistency, and anticipation. For those two things to get better, he has to trust that his receivers will make a play on the ball every time he throws the ball, and that the receivers do just that. I think the game has not slowed down all the way for him just yet, but I believe he is close. Here’s to seeing Josh make those steps this season. ?

 

Go Bills!!!

 

 

I agree, 

 

I also think increased size and catching radius at the WR position is going to help matters.

[BringBackFergy]

36 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

Either 4D chess, or checkers......that could go either way. Or maybe make chess look like checkers?

 

Will this speed up the eyes?

 

 

. 

He’s already on 5D Parchese

[NoHuddleKelly12]

12 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

Interesting article. 
 

But if everyone in the NFL starts playing chess, what will Bill Belichick play?

[Doc]

5 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

If someone would just tell him to to the throw the ball HIGH while throwing it FAR, he would improve dramatically.

 

I've never seen an NFL QB literally not understand the concept of throwing a deep ball.

 

Did you see any of his rookie season?

[John from Riverside]

Josh Allen gets away from so many defenders already....now he has to learn Chess?

[Doc]

I guess it would help in quick decision making, but there's more to that than being a QB.  Chess players aren't throwing to their pieces. 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

2 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

He’s already on 5D Parchese

Did you say with cheese? 

 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

6 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

If someone would just tell him to to the throw the ball HIGH while throwing it FAR, he would improve dramatically.

 

I've never seen an NFL QB literally not understand the concept of throwing a deep ball.

 

 

But cap’n check down Edwards doesn’t play for us anymore! 

 

[Don Otreply]

4 hours ago, Figster said:

I agree, 

 

I also think increased size and catching radius at the WR position is going to help matters.

It certainly isn’t going to hurt, ?

[EasternOHBillsFan]

Playing chess is good so long as it is against other amateur players... but I found that when you get to a certain level, it's much less about strategy and a lot more about memorization. To get above a certain level, you MUST memorize patterns so that you are many moves ahead, or you'll lose. That's what makes grandmasters special... their memorization abilities are insane, and strategy is merely choosing which memorized road to go down.

[Thurman#1]

17 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

Thought you’d like that Ridge.  It was too easy.

 

On a serious note, thanks Thurmon as that was an interesting article and I love chess.  Makes sense to teach speed chess.  I was never that good to do speed chess, but the parallels makes a great deal of sense.

 

 

Yeah, fascinating stuff.

 

I loved how he was able to find fairly quickly their weaknesses in chess and then that they had the same weaknesses in football, so when he worked on that mindset/tactical weakness in chess, it carried over. Amazing stuff, IMO.

 

I tried speed chess for like two games and I was awful. I now wonder whether I should start working on it.

 

 

18 hours ago, TBBills said:

If he wants to in his off time but TBH he just needs to be more accurate and I know chess doesn't do that.

 

 

While he does need to work on the inconsistency problems he has with accuracy, that is absolutely not all that he needs to get done.

 

I'm sure if you talk to him, to his coaches both on the Bills and private, they would all tell you he needs to work on a ton of things. They all do, really, but it's certainly true of Josh as well.

Edited July 20, 2020 by Thurman#1

[mykidsdad]

Technically, blitz is 3 minutes a side or longer. What they're describing is actually next level fast. The chess they're talking about is called bullet. All serious chess needs to be played with time limits, and, to me, chess has always been the best corollary for football. I'm a huge football fan and a fairly serious chess player and have always called football the chess of sports. The whole he-goes-there-I-go-here-and-if-he-goes-there-next part is a lot like calling plays, changing defenses, adjusting formations and so on. I love this, and I think there is great value in teaching bullet chess. Way to go. And I would love to see JA try this.

[Captain Hindsight]

5 hours ago, mykidsdad said:

Technically, blitz is 3 minutes a side or longer. What they're describing is actually next level fast. The chess they're talking about is called bullet. All serious chess needs to be played with time limits, and, to me, chess has always been the best corollary for football. I'm a huge football fan and a fairly serious chess player and have always called football the chess of sports. The whole he-goes-there-I-go-here-and-if-he-goes-there-next part is a lot like calling plays, changing defenses, adjusting formations and so on. I love this, and I think there is great value in teaching bullet chess. Way to go. And I would love to see JA try this.

Bullet chess is very difficult. I usually do 5 min games and that can be challenging too. 

 

Chess is a really fun game. Makes you think several moves ahead. I'm sure it would help QBs process information

[Pete]

Blitz chess, yoga, and bong hits is how I begin most days.

I play blitz chess mostly online, but I have chess clock and play OTB often too

Edited July 20, 2020 by Pete

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

I've said for a long time the NFL needs Stepford QB's!  The game has got too fast, the players are too big and strong for the average or above average person to stand back there and figure things out and if/when he figures the mental part out, implement what's needed physically.   There are a few out there smart enough, but they may not have the physical skills to pull it off.  Fitz is a prime example. 

 

Kind of reminds me back in the 70's when first it was the Cowboys with Laundry who resorted to calling all the plays in from the sideline as didn't want their QB to have to figure things out all along out there.  Quickly other teams followed. 

 

And yes am aware that Paul Brown did it way before, but didn't seem to catch on until Dallas implemented it.

[Punching Bag]

On 7/19/2020 at 3:12 PM, jeremy2020 said:

I've also heard this TB12 stuff helps QBs. 

 

Yes TB's pocketbook.

[Punching Bag]

7 hours ago, Pete said:

Blitz chess, yoga, and bong hits is how I begin most days.

I play blitz chess mostly online, but I have chess clock and play OTB often too

 

Blitz chess and alcohol is more fun.

We used shot glasses for pawns, 4 oz glasses for knights, bishops and rooks with different glass ornaments and 8 oz for queen.

When you capture you drink.  Usually we would use a mixed drink but occasionally use different items in glasses like whiskey in shot glass, Guinness in rook glass, etc.

When you are late in move you poured yourself a shot and reset clock.

[Pete]

3 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

Blitz chess and alcohol is more fun.

We used shot glasses for pawns, 4 oz glasses for knights, bishops and rooks with different glass ornaments and 8 oz for queen.

When you capture you drink.  Usually we would use a mixed drink but occasionally use different items in glasses like whiskey in shot glass, Guinness in rook glass, etc.

When you are late in move you poured yourself a shot and reset clock.

sounds like some fun drunken chess.

I always found Chess Boxing intriguing