Dallas Cowboys: 3 takeaways from the second episode of Hard Knocks
By Mitch Larson
2. Dallas Cowboys? More like the Dallas Chessmasters
Wide receiver Amari Cooper‘s love of chess is something that has been pretty well documented over the years. He even went so far as to compare himself to the knight, a key chess piece, a couple of years ago:
Amari Cooper loves chess. He says the knight is his favorite piece because “it’s the most deceptive piece, and all war is based off deception.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) June 24, 2019
Would Cooper compare himself to the knight on the football field? pic.twitter.com/ebb8sDROqD
However, Cooper is far from the only Dallas Cowboy who enjoys a good game of chess. Rookie linebacker Micah Parsons also loves to square off with teammates in a quick match.
Cooper and Parsons even made it a point to play each other over the offseason a couple of times. At one point the Cowboys’ 2021 first-round pick took to social media to share his victory over the veteran receiver.
Man I told you !! Caught him!! Down goes coop https://t.co/jYLYjreie7 pic.twitter.com/gujFTekzwa
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) June 10, 2021
This week’s Hard Knocks brought the team’s love of chess to viewers front and center, showcasing a battle between Ben DiNucci and Parsons early on in the episode. So who won?
This time, it was DiNucci who bested the Cowboys’ rookie linebacker. He even capped his victory off by telling Parsons, a native of Harrisburg, PA: “I guess the western part of PA is better than the eastern part of PA, huh?”
Hopefully, we can see some more chess action later on in the series, maybe even another Cooper and Parsons showdown. For what it’s worth, Micah Parsons is already lobbying for a rematch against DiNucci.