Toronto-born baseball star Joey Votto takes a swing at chess in his hometown
Toronto-born baseball star Joey Votto takes a swing at chess in his hometown
Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto has been spotted playing chess at a local Toronto club in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Matt York and Instasgram/Joey Votto)
If you ask George Supol what he thinks about six-time MLB All-Star Joey Votto, he’ll tell you he’s got a great attitude and serves as a positive role model, especially for younger players.
But Supol’s not talking about the Toronto-born baseball player’s abilities on the field. He’s talking about how Votto plays chess.
The Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman has been coming to the Annex Chess Club (ACC), just north of Bathurst and Bloor streets, every week for a few months now, according to Supol.
“The reaction has been very positive,” the ACC director told CTV News Toronto in an email.
News of Votto’s presence at the local chess club was no secret, though. The 39-year-old Torontonian has been posting about his visits since the beginning of the year.
On Jan. 10, Votto announced his first chess win at the club on Instagram, attributing his success to the barley soup he had for lunch that day.
Then, on Jan. 16, Votto was seen taking the GO Train and the TTC to make an appearance at the Monday night chess gathering.
Torontonian Joey Votto has made more than $200 Million playing baseball and is took the GO train and the Subway to go play chess downtown tonight. Ideal Toronto Man. https://t.co/NXDQd42Olqpic.twitter.com/BEgRrjnMNp
As an observer, Supol said he thinks that Votto is “truly happy” when he makes the weekly trip to the club in the Annex.
“Joey is a great guy and a fantastic baseball player. We're very happy that he has chosen ACC as his home club,” he said.
In another post to Instagram,Votto said that finding a group that allows him to be social and do something challenging/fun has “been a gift.”
“Annex Chess Club, thank you for welcoming me,” Votto wrote.
While it’s hard to say whether or not the draw of Votto’s presence at the downtown Toronto chess club has led to an increase in attendance overall, Supol said membership has been steadily increasing anyways.
“Chess is difficult to master and there is always room for improvement at every level. We need great chess players to inspire the rest of us,” he said.
The length of Votto’s residency at the ACC is still up in the air as reports have indicated he could be ready to return to the Reds as early as this season.
In the meantime, Supol said players at the club look forward to seeing him when his schedule allows, especially in the offseason.
“ACC's fundamental philosophy has always been ‘Chess for everyone!’ — whether you're a sports superstar like Joey or just an average joe,” Supol said.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived Thursday evening in Ottawa for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.
Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could see asylum seekers turned back at irregular border crossings across the border, including Roxham Road in Quebec.
As the federal government looks to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S., an eastern Ontario mayor says his city needs more help from Ottawa to deal with the influx of asylum seekers arriving through irregular crossings like Roxham Road.
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
A majority of Canadians have seen a mistake on their grocery receipts in the last year, according to a new survey conducted by Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
An asteroid discovered just last week will pass closer to the Earth than the orbit of the moon this weekend, an occurrence so rare it happens only once in a decade, according to NASA.
The number of Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits are at record lows and down 44 per cent from last year, new figures from Statistics Canada show.
Two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) sisters from Montreal are on a mission that is close to their hearts: to save their ancestors' first language by developing video games young and old can play.
For the first time, the owner of a building in Old Montreal has responded to questions about the fire — through his lawyer — addressing allegations that the building was unsafe.
The political class at the National Assembly has condemned the 'violent' and 'hateful' remarks that columnist Gilles Proulx allegedly made about Quebec solidaire MNAs during Richard Martineau's show on Qub radio in recent weeks.
The new provincial budget features items specific to southwestern Ontario, including a new English public elementary school in London, Ont. that will serve 556 students and include 88 licensed childcare spaces.
A young Strathroy, Ont. man believes there's a promising way forward in the effort to fight his disease. But, he's being told, right now, that path isn't open to him. Friends and family are stepping up to try and make a case for Kyle McPhee to receive immunotherapy treatments.
The ‘Catch the Ace’ jackpot is still up for grabs in Hagersville. There was no winner Thursday night so the total prize money is now an estimated $1,526,067.
The resurrection of Zellers is officially underway with the Cambridge location opening its doors to eager shoppers who lined up ahead of the store's official reopening.
The co-owners of a new liquidation store in North Bay, Samuel Quesnel and Chloé Boivenue, say they want to bring a treasure hunt shopping experience to the city.
Ottawa residents are being told to expect road closures, transit delays and heightened security in the downtown core today, as U.S. President Joe Biden continues his visit to the capital. CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what you need to know about President Biden's second day in Ottawa.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived Thursday evening in Ottawa for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.
After a year-and-a-half without, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) says it’s narrowing in on hiring a permanent chief medical officer of health.
When the permit to construct a replacement span for the Ambassador Bridge expired in the summer of 2022, many thought that would bring an end to a 20-year saga of boarded up homes in the city’s west end.
The quick thinking and immediate actions of two people are credited with possibly saving the life of a Midland councillor after he collapsed at a meeting Wednesday evening.
Investigators with York Regional Police issued Canada-wide warrants for two men who they say are involved in the Richmond Hill attack on Ontario woman Elnaz Hajtamiri weeks before she was allegedly abducted.
The Tim Houston PC government remains firm in their promise they'll fix the health-care system by spending more taxpayer money on health than any previous government before.
Potato farmers on Prince Edward Island are taking the federal government to court due to the decision to restrict the movement of P.E.I. seed potatoes.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has cited an energy company for causing a series of earthquakes, including the largest recorded tremblor in the province's history.
Manitoba First Nation police have arrested a man connected with a shooting on March 19 on Long Plain First Nation that resulted in the community going on lockdown.
Manitoba’s labour force is growing at a rate to supply enough workers for available positions into 2026, according to the province’s labour market outlook.
Following a court appearance Thursday, a B.C. woman facing more than 20 charges – including manslaughter – in connection with alleged druggings of men who used escort services was remanded into custody.
The man killed in West Vancouver earlier this week was a retired urologist who was involved in several legal disputes over valuable real estate, CTV News has learned.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has cited an energy company for causing a series of earthquakes, including the largest recorded tremblor in the province's history.
Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto has been spotted playing chess at a local Toronto club in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Matt York and Instasgram/Joey Votto)
