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EXCLUSIVERevealed: Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca's secret 'football and chess' thesis that fuels everything he does - the 'surprise factor', how it changed Cole Palmer and which players are his king, rook and bishop

If your knowledge of chess is limited to cheating accusations involving vibrating beads and the Netflix drama The Queen’s Gambit, then Enzo Maresca’s 42-page thesis may not be the most riveting read you could pick up while waiting in the dentist’s office.

But in between talk of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and the Nimzo-Indian defence and other complicated comparisons which might make a few folks long for their filling, it provides a glimpse into the psyche of the coach hoping to strategise his first trophy with Chelsea tonight.