Meet The NFL Pro Who Gained 1400 Chess Rating Points With One Unusual Move

Not many people can say they are a professional football player with a master's degree in electrical engineering and a strong chess player and streamer on top of it. But July 2025 Chess.com Creator of the Month Matt Henningsen is all of those things. The Denver Broncos defensive lineman has improved his chess rating from 500 to 1900 in the last few years—and has streamed every moment of it since last year. Tune into one of these streams and you will see someone who, after all of his successes, has remained true to himself.

Chess.com spoke to Matt about how he started streaming, how he improved—including the unusual opening that helped!—and everything that he brings to a stream that he hopes can also introduce new people and audiences to the game.

Kind of have a silly question first if that's all right.

Yeah, go ahead. Fire away.

When you sacked Herbert, did you yell checkmate?

I really should have. No, I didn't. That would have been funny though. That was right about when I started trying to get really serious about chess in my rookie year. Specifically, after that season I suppose.

Yeah, that was my first real question. I was really impressed to find out you didn't play growing up, given your rating and how you played on stream. How did you pick it up?

Yeah, I'll just get into it. So, I remember playing a little bit, dabbling on my phone here and there growing up, but I got my Chess.com account in November of 2020. I was at 500 Elo, and that’s kind of where my baseline was. Compared to a true beginner, it’s pretty good. I knew how the pieces moved.

Honestly, I just did it to pass the time. I’ve never been a big video game player. My hobbies were always lifting, football, stuff like that. And then I just started playing on my phone whenever I had downtime. Instead of doom-scrolling, I’d hop on chess and play a game. I’d end a lot of games early and never took my rating that seriously. I just played.

As I got more into it, I’d say I got somewhat serious in my rookie year, which was 2023. When I really started playing, I actually got a computer specifically to play chess.

And how long have you been creating chess content, and what made you decide to start?

I got all the streaming gear and started doing that after last season. I got a computer, and then I was like, let’s start streaming it. Then Chess.com hit me up about it. Since then, I’ve been streaming every time I play. 

I’ve been creating chess content for about a year now, and I started because I enjoy the competitive nature of chess as a game.  It brings out the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Also, as I continued to improve, I wanted to share it with others. 

You mentioned on stream that one thing that helped you improve was focusing on a single opening. But why did you pick the Polish Opening? It's not the most common!

When I first started playing, I was an e4 player. I didn’t have a ton of openings. I watched videos on openings, but I never really took the time to learn one. I tried to learn a little of the Italian Game.

But I noticed that I was a lot better with Black than I was with White. I’ve been playing the French Defense since I started chess. (There was a stint where I played the Englund Gambit against d4, but we don’t talk about that anymore!) I ended up going with e6 against everything with Black. That’s kind of been my go-to for a while.

But with White, I was inconsistent, so I figured I had to do something niche. I wanted to get into positions where I felt comfortable and my opponent didn’t. I push that b-pawn and get into positions where only I feel comfortable.

What’s your favorite thing about creating? What makes it fun?

I love meeting and interacting with people while I play. It helps me enjoy the games so much more and just feel less alone playing chess!

Who are some of your favorite chess content creators, and why?

I would say I have 3:

• Hikaru is my favorite creator because of how impassioned he is in the game of chess, how great he is at the game, and his ability to interact with viewers. It is awesome having someone like him at the top of the game explaining his thought process while he plays and in his game recaps.
• GothamChess is a creator who really helped me get into chess. His content is so beginner friendly and really jump started my passion of the game. There aren’t many YouTube videos of his I haven’t seen.
• JoeBruin really has been a fantastic mentor to guide me into the streaming world, telling me the ins and outs of chess streaming. 

What is your single favorite piece of chess content you've ever created?

I have done a wide variety of streaming content on Twitch from lessons, games online, games with viewers, puzzles, and now branching to clips on TikTok. I would say my favorite is just playing games online and interacting with viewers while I play!

@matthenningsen" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@matthenningsen?refer=embed" rel="ugc nofollow noreferrer noopener">@matthenningsen The call me a premove king #chess #chessclip #chesstok ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

What is your single favorite piece of chess content that was created by someone else?

One thing that really made me dive into the chess world is the tournament recap videos by GothamChess and Hikaru’s videos of his games. They were integral to making me a fan in the chess world, specifically following the candidates tournament and then the world championship.

Imagine you could do a chess-based collab with anyone in the world. Who would it be, and why?

I want to collab with Hikaru. He is one of the best in the world and there is nothing like learning from the best. Being an athlete myself I have a great respect for those who have mastered their craft- and Hikaru is at the top. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process?

Personally, I just stream whenever I play, and I just be myself on stream. All my reactions are natural, and my goal is to show my viewers that athletes like me have other interests. I am just a normal guy who loves playing chess and talking to people while I do it. 

@matthenningsen" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@matthenningsen?refer=embed" rel="ugc nofollow noreferrer noopener">@matthenningsen 500IQ premove for the WIN #chess #chesstok #chessgame ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

That definitely came through on stream. How do you stay so natural behind the screen and camera?

At first, it was a little weird. Especially when I didn’t have any viewers—I’m just sitting there with three people watching, none of them in chat. I’m just playing chess.

But once it picked up, it helped that I could just talk about stuff and be normal. I wouldn’t like just sitting around playing chess in silence. I get bored staring at a screen. I feel the same way playing OTB in silent tournament rooms. I get why it’s like that, and I love the chess community and how it works.

But football is a game where I’m not silent—I’m yelling, talking. When I’m doing something, I like engaging with people. That’s what led me to chess streaming. I know most chess players want silence and focus, and maybe I could improve if I learned to play like that. But I enjoy playing by talking, interacting—not even just about chess. Explaining thought processes, joking around. That’s why streaming comes naturally.

Anything else you'd like to talk about?

My favorite part about the two biggest hobbies in my life—American football and chess—is the competitive aspect to them. It is all about constant improvement and becoming a better version of myself every day.  I love sharing that competitive spirit—the highs of wins, and the lows of losses—with all of my supporters. It is so fun to share it with fans of chess, and I hope they enjoy sharing it with me. 

Everybody loves the highs of competition, but not so much the lows of losses. Why do you find the losses just as interesting to share?

Obviously, losses can be very frustrating. I think every player can relate to those crushing losses that destroy your spirit. One thing that might make them better is when you have people in chat watching you fail miserably because you just missed mate in one or something. It’s embarrassing, but you can’t help but laugh—it’s so bad. But it happens. The stakes aren’t high—it’s just online chess.

And it gets tough sometimes when you’re alone without the chat, losing repeatedly. You get in your own head. Chess has very little luck—it’s just your thoughts. But having the chat to relate to or laugh with you helps.

I'm not on other social media yet, but when I am, I’ll probably share losses—because they’re often funnier than wins. I’ll be like, “This. He takes here. I take here.” Then it’s mate in one for my opponent. And I just laugh and start another game.

It’s the relatability. Even at 1900, even players with titles still mess up.

That Speed Chess Championship where Magnus hung a bishop against Hikaru comes to mind. GM Mikhail Tal talked about how he was so engrossed in playing that he didn’t even think about results until after.

You’ll even see me on stream sometimes losing and getting down. I have to remind myself why I’m playing. My rating doesn’t really matter—it just matters to me because I set goals. But there are times I get angry on stream, where I’m yelling, reacting strongly. People find that funny—and I’m fine with it. 

Like Magnus slamming the table. I don’t know if you saw that the other day.

Yeah, I saw it. Exactly. The stakes were high, but he let his emotions out. Showing emotion can even help grow the game.

That’s why I stream: so you can see my real reactions. I hope to someday break into the chess world further, to perhaps bring it to a wider audience. As I am somewhat of an outsider breaking into the chess world, maybe I can help be a bridge that helps sports fans branch into chess.