Chess Grandmaster Takes on 10 inmates while blindfolded at the same time - AND WINS!

A chess grandmaster, ranked 3rd in the U.S., put his skill at playing blindfolded to the test Friday at the Cook County Jail, beating ten inmates in two hours, without ever seeing any of the chess boards.

I'd almost think that this constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment" haha! Still though, even with his memory of all ten boards being slightly faulty, and while being blindfolded, its pretty amazing, right?

Source

reply to post by kingofyo1


There's got to be some kind of memory association strategy he's using unbeknownst to the rest of us. It's that formula you would want to get your hands on. He should write a book...

reply to post by FlySolo


Definitely smarter than the average chess grandmaster

If I out ran 100 terry shivo's would it really be a win.

reminds me of this ...



www.youtube.com...

reply to post by starfoxxx


Hey man, a win's a win Ya never know, some of those inmates could be rainmen with a chess board for all we know!

Actually, that's not as impressive as it sounds. Any master worth his rating should be able to play five to ten boards blindfolded against duffers. Back in the 80s, I did that a couple of times against guys on the ship. These days, I could probably only handle two or three.

At the master and grandmaster level, the board is in your mind. The one on the table just shows the game at one point, the one in your mind shows the game a dozen or so moves later, and it's just as vivid as the one you see with your eyes.

I remember one morning back in the day. I got up, went to the bathroom, and thought, "OK, I need to shave, brush my teeth, and I've got to do something about passed pawn on the sixth rank ..." Then I just looked at myself in the mirror and said, "What?"

I was kind of hooked on chess at the time.

reply to post by kingofyo1


What is the point of this?

He's a grandmaster. He's supported to smash non-pro scrubs. Even off memory alone and blindfolded.
They are no where near this guy's league. Hell most people are not in his league.

This is like comparing michael jordan or bill russell vs a college all american. Totally outmatched.

reply to post by John_Rodger_Cornman


Eh, I agree with you entirely! I really dont see the point, other than publicity.. When was the last time you've heard about anything on MSM regarding a chess player?

reply to post by VictorVonDoom


That story could very well fit into a "you know you're an addict when..." statement! I've never been that good at chess, so when someone, grand master or not, shows off their abilities it amazes me

reply to post by kingofyo1


About playing prisoners, though ...

Back in the 70s, there used to be what was called VAPEN (Virginia Penitentiary) points. You see, the way the rating system works, if you win a rated game, you gain points, and your opponet loses the same number of points. The number of points exchanged depends on the rating difference between the players. If you both have the same rating, you gain 16 point, your opponent loses 16 points. Anyway, there is a whole system for this.

Prisoners would organize there own rated tournaments. They would manipulate the rating system, and produce many highly rated players, experts and even some masters and grandmasters. Of course, they weren't really that good. So if you ever got a chance to play one in a rated game, you could count on an easy win and a nice boost in rating points.

I think the USCF caught on after a while and put a stop to it.

reply to post by VictorVonDoom


Go figure, the prisoners would find a way to cheat the system, right??? who didnt see that coming!

AnyBody see His wallet?

Visual memorization the real board is in your head. I use to play chess a lot. I haven't played in 10 years but I can still remember every move I made in certain games.

You'd be hard pressed to find a grandmaster who can't play blindfolded, or many boards at once. I'm not sure about playing 10 blindfolded, though.

I play the scholastic state champ at least 20 games a week. He's not even an expert and can play blindfolded. I get maybe a win every 6 or 7 games. Still better than everyone else I know!