When chess grandmaster Timur Gareyev took on 48 opponents blindfolded over nearly 20 hours

Timur Gareyev, a grandmaster from Uzbekistan, has set a world record by playing 48 games against 48 different opponents blindfolded. It is a mind-boggling achievement. What is a blindfold simultaneous exhibition in chess? Chess is a one-on-one sport and in order to show their proficiency, top players give simultaneous exhibitions where one person takes on many players at the same time and move from one board to another. In blindfold simultaneous exhibition, however, a player not only takes on many opponents but also blindfolds himself. He cannot see any of the boards and by keeping all the positions in his mind, he calls out moves one after another. Aside from the World Championship itself, nothing in chess quite seizes the imagination of the general public as blindfold chess. Tell a non-player you can play a game blindfolded, and you are instantly ranked as some sort of a genius. Reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen did it when he took on ten opponents without seeing the board and beating all of them (see video below). It adds to the aura around Carlsen, who is already one of the greatest players of all time, having completed a hat-trick of World Championship titles last month with a win over Sergey Karjakin.

World record in 1947 During the first half of the 20th century, there was a rush to break the record for the most blindfold games at a time, until finally, in 1947, the Polish-born Miguel Najdorf set the record at 45 boards in a massive display in São Paulo, Brazil. [caption id=“attachment_3145906” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Miguel Najdorf set the world record of most number of blindfold games by playing against 45 opponents. The most popular chess opening in chess, the Sicilian Najdorf, is named after him.[/caption] The number of 45 boards was such a high standard that for decades nobody came close. Thus Najdorf’s great record stood for 64 years, until a German master, Mark Lang, one-upped the feat after months of preparation, raising the bar to 46 boards in 2011. Timur Gareyev’s ambition However, another player also had his eye on Najdorf’s record: the ebullient free spirited Timur Gareyev. The US-based chess grandmaster had made a name for himself with off-beat articles sharing his passion for life, doing skydiving, globetrotting, and eventually playing blindfold simuls. Realising he had an obvious talent for it, and its popularity, his displays were soon in demand, with newspapers gobbling them up, describing the flip-flop wearing, exercise bicycle pumping, blindfold player as a sight of astonishment. [caption id=“attachment_3145918” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] The colourful Timur Gareyev before the start of his world record breaking feat.[/caption] Preparation Gareyev announced his plan to officially break the record early in the year. He would play blindfolded against 48 opponents! Playing ten boards for a player of his skill (he peaked at World No 68 in 2013) might not have been very difficult, but not the number he hoped to achieve. He regularly met memory specialists such as James Jorasch, founder of the Science House in New York, who is a regular participant in the World Memory Championships. Jorasch is quick to explain that such feats are a result of the mastery over specialised techniques such as Memory Palace , and not some winning ticket in the genetic lottery he was born with. [caption id=“attachment_3145922” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] James Joarasch of the Science House coached Timur Gareyev to help prepare him for the challenge. You can look how he is assigning images of different people and animals to different moves like 1.e4 or 1.d4. (Photo by Albert Silver)[/caption] One of the unexpected obstacles is the very first moves played on the board. At first sight, this is counter-intuitive and one would think that with 40-plus boards, complex middlegame positions would be the greatest challenge. However, the difficulty at the start is possibly greater because so many of the boards are either identical, or nearly identical, due to repeated opening moves. There is a serious danger of confusing one board for another, and that is where techniques such as Memory Palace can be of enormous help. [caption id=“attachment_3145948” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Timur Gareyev’s preparation spanned months. (Photo by Albert Silver)[/caption] The World record The date was set for 3 December, 2016 in Las Vegas. Players from the Las Vegas area, as well as around the country, and even a few around the world - through online connections - were brought in, and the show was set up with an incredible 48 boards. As a form of full-circle in history, one of his opponents was the great chess enthusiast, 92-year-old Luciano de Nilo Andrade, assisted by the author of these lines, who is the last surviving participant from Najdorf’s record-setting effort in 1947. [caption id=“attachment_3145950” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] 92-year-old Luciano Nilo de Andrade, the last surviving participant from Najdorf’s 1947 record, participated in the 2016 record, accompanied by friends FM Alberto Mascarenhas (left) and and Albert Silver (right). (Photo by Albert Silver)[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_3145960” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] The entire event took place in a large hall, with a live video broadcast on Twitch TV with multiple cameras and commentary by host Jay Stallings, and players tuned in from all over to watch the amazing feat. (Photo by Lennart Ootes)[/caption] Cycling away on an exercise bicycle as he played, which he explains helps him feel in touch with his surroundings, Gareyev was heard announcing his moves board to board. All the while, he gesticulated with his hands and arms, working out visual images for each board and move in his mind. [caption id=“attachment_3145964” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Timur Gareyev always conducts his blindfold simuls from an exercise bike. It is not meant as a gimmick, and he explains it helps him. (Photo by Lennart Ootes)[/caption] All seemed to be going smoothly until a moment of horror and concern when after seven moves a loud fire alarm was set off, interrupting the proceedings. Players left the area, and a visibly frustrated Gareyev was helped out. Was the record attempt going to be aborted? The penetrating sound lasted for a full ten minutes, overheard on everyone’s computer as they watched it live. But during all of this, Gareyev never took off his blindfold. Finally, the noise stopped - later revealed to have been caused by burned food from the kitchen – and he got back on his exercise bicycle. After seeing him resume all the boards as if nothing had happened, flawlessly citing board numbers and player names, no one had any doubt he would succeed. [caption id=“attachment_3145966” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] The self-monikered ‘Blindfold King’ had earned his name. Long live the king.[/caption] Finally, after nearly 20 hours, he finished the display with 35 wins, seven draws, and six losses, successfully completing his world record attempt over 48 boards with a little over 70 percent success rate. Albert Silver is an editor for ChessBase India .