Play Chess Against MLB All-Star Joey Votto
Chess.com is excited to announce its first ever baseball bot: introducing one of the sport's most valuable players, Joey Votto! Votto, a six-time All-Star and the National League Most Valuable Player in 2010, spent all 17 Major League seasons of his career from 2007-2023 with the Cincinnati Reds. He is one of that storied franchise's greatest players of all time and second in franchise history with 356 home runs.
To celebrate Joey's new bot, there will be an arena tournament in the Chess.com Community Club on November 6 at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT. If you are located in the United States, join the club and play at least 10 games in the tournament for a chance at a chessboard or baseball signed by Joey Votto himself! (If you're not in the U.S., play for the fun of the game!) Registration opens at 2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. PT on November 6.
In addition to his baseball achievements, Votto is also an avid chess player and fan. Here is a photo he took with the former world chess champion GM Garry Kasparov in 2022:
Kasparov himself remembered this event to congratulate Votto on his career following his 2024 retirement.
Now you’ll have more time to work on your real chess game, my friend! Congratulations on an amazing *first* career! pic.twitter.com/v3D0sj59p2
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) August 23, 2024
Votto has also spoken to the New York Times about not just baseball, but also chess, such as a tournament he played in Toronto.
So... do you have what it takes to defeat this baseball superstar and chess superfan over the chessboard?
The Chess.com team of athlete bots continues to grow, both in number of stars and of sports. What began as a collaboration with NBA megastar Luka Doncic is developing into a full roster of computerized stars from across the wide world of sports!
Bots have already welcomed basketball masters such as All-Stars Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward; association football's brilliant Cristian Pulisic; and Hall of Fame shoo-in Larry Fitzgerald as well as original BlitzChampion Chidobe Awuzie of American football. Now we are pleased to bring baseball into the mix.
Joey Votto
Strength: 1575
Joey Votto is a retired baseball player who is a six-time all-star and National League MVP. Can you defeat this baseball legend?
Don't forget to join the Community Club today and the arena tournament on November 6! And afterr playing the bot, come back here and let us know in the comments how you did!
