Vision and Kettlebell Chess

chess

Sep 21

It’s always fun, and oftentimes a challenge, to blend two interests, two loves, into one, bigger thing that serves both imaginations. As you may know, I have returned to playing Chess again, after a long break, and I have figured out a fun way to combine my Kettlebell exercises with my renewed Chess training, and today I’m delighted to share those ideas with you.

There is a keen relationship between Chess strategy and Kettlebell training. You need to have “board vision” over the Chess board to know what is about to happen, and in Kettlebell workouts, you need to have a grander scheme that informs what you’re doing right now, but that may not be immediately felt. You are building, and training, for a future result in moving both bells and pieces.

Vision is the one thing I am working hardest to re-establish in my Chess game. I can see the big move that spans the entire diagonal of the board — I can comprehend the 10,000 Swings Challenge — but I am, at times, still mystified by the one-square move of a King that wins the Endgame in the Middlegame; just as, perhaps more often, I am challenged to implement one small hand grip modification in my Press that will make the entire movement easier, and finer, in repetition. A prophylactic behavior in both the gym and the Chess board wins many gambits!

Here’s how I blend my Chess training with my Kettlebell workouts. I practice the moves to bind memory to muscle. That may seem a little odd, but can a little fun ruin learning something new? Or does the complication of two different things meeting create something much more interesting than the originals in separation?

Swings are my Rooks — straight and true up and down a single file
Cleans and Presses are my Knights — straight up and to the left, and the right, and then back down again all for the perfect “L”
Snatches are my Bishops — move that bell from the floor and between my legs diagonally up above my shoulder
Turkish Get Up is my Queen — she’s everywhere and nowhere at the same time; no limits!
Deadlift is my King — a lot of power behind a single movement
Squats are my Pawns — yes, the “soul of Chess” never allow you to skip leg day!

As I move my Kettlebell, I am memorizing board positions. When I am seeing a Chess piece, I am imprinting the move into bones. When I use two bells instead of one, I employ the Bishop Pairs creating a wooden shield in the middle of the board; and the twin Knights are there, leaping in unison onto new continents of understanding that can overwhelm the ordinary without adversely affecting accuracy.