Jesse Hogan admits that, yes, people are surprised when they find out he plays chess. “My characteristics in the past haven’t really mirrored someone that would enjoy chess as much as I do,” he says.
One of the AFL’s most imposing forwards, the 30-year-old has become a key piece for a Greater Western Sydney side in contention for the 2025 premiership. After inconsistent stints at Melbourne and Fremantle – in a period where he developed a reputation as an unfulfilled talent – he has honed his craft and fitness in recent years in Sydney, producing a late-career, Coleman medal-winning peak that few saw coming.
It’s been a twist in the Hogan story, not unlike his passion for chess. He admits he doesn’t come across as clean or as sharp or as educated as the stereotype of someone who plays the game. “Chess has a, not a nerdy appeal, but it’s a bit more of a brainier kind of activity,” he says. “I just don’t think people that know me would would pair me up with a chess addiction.”
Hogan is not being interviewed to boost his profile in the global chess scene. He is not seeking an endorsement from a board manufacturer, or a chess website. He simply loves his newfound passion. “It’s not something I do for attention. I do genuinely enjoy it, and I do enjoy talking about it. I find it really quirky and different and kind of untouched a little bit in the AFL world.”
The West Australian had originally been taught to play at age 12 by his brother-in-law, but the appeal of chess to a talented teenage footballer growing up in Perth soon waned. “I remember enjoying it as a kid, and then I think I got onto the PlayStation and gave it up,” he says.
But a friend started playing online two years ago, and a more mature Hogan was reintroduced to the game. His enthusiasm for it quickly grew. “Within a month, I was stone-cold addicted,” he says. “I got on chess.com and played a few games, and I was obsessed with the global scoring system.”
The online home of chess tracks the fortunes of more than 100 million casual, committed and elite players. For Hogan, there was always someone else available to play. “I’d be up until like 3am, I couldn’t stop playing, I’d literally play like 15 games, back-to-back-to-back. Then I’d be going to sleep, and I’d just be thinking about the last game I played.”
Driving him was his appetite for competition. Chess.com’s ranking system is based on so-called “Elo ratings”, meaning every game counts, and each victory brings immediate reward. “At the start, when I was climbing the rating, I would play like 25 to 30 games over one or two days. They’re 20-minute games, so if you do the math, I was spending a lot of time looking at 64 black and white squares,” Hogan says.
GWS players typically spend more than 40 hours on planes in the air during a season – the sixth most among all clubs in the competition last year – leaving them with plenty of time to themselves. Over the course of the 2024 season, Hogan’s global rating quickly climbed above that of a casual player, and he reached a milestone of 1,600 in January. When he posted a photo of the achievement on his social media, he was inundated with followers drawn by something other than his footy prowess. “I had about 30 or 40 people add me, and had some chess clubs comment saying, ‘that’s a good rating’. That’s all the recognition that I needed,” he recalls proudly.
Hogan now speaks with reverence about five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen. “He’s the best chess player of all time, he’s quite a quirky person and he’s just an interesting dude. He’s just so much better, the brain power of him in particular is just out of this world, it’s literally a superpower.”
The Giants forward, who kicked 77 goals last season, is not the only athlete to be spellbound by the game of kings. In the AFL, players including Melbourne duo Max Gawn and Clayton Oliver, Geelong’s Mark Blicavs and Carlton’s Sam Walsh have been known to play. Basketball star Luka Doncic indulges, as do footballers Mo Salah (with an Elo rating of around 1,400) and Harry Kane (around 1,200). But American golfer Sahith Theegala appears to the benchmark for athletes.
“He’s one of the only professional athletes that I can recall that is a 2,000-plus Elo-rated chess player, which is just so far out of my realm,” Hogan says. “If I could get to 1,650, or 1,700, I’ll be happy with that.”
Visit Hogan’s chess.com profile under the username “steezedupcheese”, a chart describes how, from his high of 1,604 in January, his rating has begun to slip in recent months to where he is now, at just under 1,400. He partly blames the injury he suffered in pre-season when he jammed his thumb in a door, breaking it. “When the [chess match’s] time starts getting low, you need to be quite fast and I use my right hand, and my right thumb was hindered, so maybe that’s why my rating went down,” he says with a smile.
But on the field he looks just as dangerous as last year, having returned to play in round three. Last week Hogan kicked nine goals against West Coast in a dominant victory. GWS are legitimate contenders for the flag, motivated by the hurt of September. Their 2024 season was ended by two heartbreaking finals losses, including one to the Lions – the eventual premiers – in the dying stages having given up a lead of 44 points.
Hogan says the Giants players aren’t shying away from the pain. “We wanted to address what actually happened in those games, what happened in those moments, what are we going to do about it in the future. It’s a challenge that we really look forward to.”
The approach is not unlike how Hogan has been refining his chess. “It’s a really good way to activate your brain, and I’m not saying there’s any correlation to football or form or anything – I’m not going to try and link them together – but it’s just funny how my last 12 months of footy has been probably my most enjoyable, mentally and physically.”
