England Striker Harry Kane Reveals He’s 'About 1200-Rated On Chess.com'

He is considered one of the best strikers in the world and holds the record for the most goals scored in his country's history. In addition to his busy schedule of playing matches, Harry Kane also enjoys playing quick games on Chess.com during his free time.

The 30-year-old, who is a member of the England team in the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament on Thursday night, shared in an interview with GQ Germany magazine that chess is one of his preferred pastimes. He mentioned that he has achieved a "moderately good" rating of approximately 1200 in the game.

Kane, who plays for Bayern Munich, revealed to GQ that he's relatively new to playing chess, having started only a few years ago. He credits the TV series "The Queen's Gambit" for sparking his interest in the game. Currently, he's putting in the time to learn and has reached a rating of 1200 on the 10-minute version of Chess.com, which he considers to be a decent achievement.

Kane mentioned that he is still interested in football even after moving to Germany last year from his childhood club, Tottenham Hotspur. He has been competing against some of his new teammates at Bayern Munich.

Kane mentioned that he has enjoyed playing games with his family and some of his teammates. He shared that he has had some enjoyable matches with Joshua Kimmich, but he believes Kingsley Coman is the most skilled player. Despite not playing against Coman yet, Kane has heard that he is the toughest opponent to face, so he is working on improving his skills before challenging him.

Kane continued: "I play chess to relax and clear my mind. It's a game that requires intense mental focus on each move."

Kane has never talked about how much he loves playing chess before, but now he is joining a group of top soccer players who also enjoy the game. This includes four players on the German team.

We were aware of Mo Salah and Christian Pulisic, but it seems that the German football team at Euro 2024 also has four players who are fans of chess: Benjamin Henrichs, Joshua Kimmich, Leroy Sane, and Jamal Musiala.

In the previous year, popular Liverpool footballer Mohamed Salah shared that he has a ranking of 1400 in chess and expressed his desire to meet the top-ranked player in the world, GM Magnus Carlsen. In an interview with Sky Sports, Salah mentioned his passion for chess, stating that he plays it regularly and is easily hooked on it.

American soccer player Christian Pulisic made an appearance on a Champions Chess Tour broadcast in 2022 and crossed paths with Carlsen during a promotional event for the athletic brand PUMA. Both athletes serve as ambassadors for PUMA and engaged in a friendly game of chess while discussing the commonalities between their respective sports. Pulisic recently introduced a bot on Chess.com for users to play against.

Kane and Trent Alexander-Arnold are teammates on the England team. Alexander-Arnold faced off against Carlsen in a quick match before the 2018 world championship in London, but ended up losing in just 17 moves.

Alexander-Arnold mentioned that he was nervous to compete against him because he knew he would likely lose, but he was proud to have made 17 moves. He also pointed out that Bill Gates only made nine moves, so he considers it a point of pride for himself.

Kane and Kimmich both play for the same team, Bayern, where they are teammates with fellow chess enthusiast Eric Dier. The defender shared his love for the game while playing alongside Kane at their previous club, Tottenham Hotspur.

If you're a Chess.com member supporting your team at the UEFA Euro 2024 event in Germany, Harry Kane could be one of the opponents you face in the game.

Leon is an acclaimed former journalist who used to work for big newspapers and now he works for Chess.com. He has also worked for other chess platforms like chess24 and Chessable. His main goal is to promote chess, but he is also an enthusiastic league player and the secretary of Battersea Chess Club in London. During his time as a journalist, he wrote for The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, and The Sun, where he covered many chess stories along with general news and features. Even though he no longer works as a journalist, Leon still enjoys seeking out interesting chess stories.

You can reach out to him by emailing [email protected].