GM Timur Gareev put on an amazing blindfolded display at the Saint louis Chess Ckub, defeating 29 players and drawing four of his 33 opponents.
By Mike Wilmering
SAINT LOUIS (May 1, 2013) — It took 10 hours and 39 minutes for Grandmaster Timur Gareev to topple the final king and leave the chess community in Saint Louis dazed and amazed.
On Tuesday, GM Gareev put on a 33-board blindfolded simultaneous exhibition at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, scoring 29 wins, four draws and zero losses.
The field, composed entirely of Saint Louis Chess Club members, had an average USCF rating of 1363, and featured two experts, three class A players (1800-1999) and five class B players (1600-1799).
CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich (USCF 2020) was the highest-rated player in the field and one of only four players to draw the blindfolded virtuoso.
“It was a truly an amazing experience to witness this remarkable display of concentration and memory,” Rich said.
GM Gareev is working toward setting a new blindfold simul world record of 64 boards before the end of 2013. The date for the record-breaking simul is tentatively set for December 21 on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
After switching federations from Uzbekistan to the U.S., he will be competing in his first-ever U.S. Championship. He enters the tournament as the No. 2-rated player in the field, second only to GM Gata Kamsky.
The 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship will be held simultaneously May 2 through May 13.
The participating players, their board numbers, and their current USCF ratings are as follows (the * denotes the players that played GM Gareev to a draw):
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August Meyer: 987
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* Steve Mislich: 1642
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Lou Cotton: unr.
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Ben Boaz: 1269
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Joe Wojcki: 1817
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Richard Pack: 1881
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Ken West: 1269
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Sal Falcone: unr.
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* William Little: 1515
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Ed Protzel: unr.
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Joe Baur: unr.
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Tim Baur: 487
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Abdul Shakoor: 1176
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Diamond Shakoor: 1259
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Micah Losee: 1770
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Julian Proleiko: 1735
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Josh Cardenas: 1334
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Jim Smith: 739
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Preethi Kembaiyan: 1228
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Yizheng He: 1160
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Adam Eubanks: 1321
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* Justin Hull: 1673
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Sathya Anand: 1423
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Katie Stujenske: 544
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Willy Kane: 1871
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Alex Marler: 2012
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Adonis “Mark” Reddick: 1548
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* Tony Rich: 2020
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Sarah Crawford: 476
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Jonathan Lake: 581
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Richard Pointer: 1594
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Brian Jerauld: 1762
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Ben Simon: 1437
The average was derived from the 29 rated players with the four unrated players omitted from the calculations. Of the four unrated players, only Ed Protzel is not a current USCF member.
The 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship will be held simultaneously May 2 through May 13. This marks the fifth consecutive year that each of these prestigious events will be held in Saint Louis.
The opening ceremony takes place on May 2, and the first round for both events will kick off at 1 p.m. CT on May 3.
Also, fans of the U.S. Chess Championships can participate in Fantasy Chess for free by visiting: http://www.uschesschamps.com/2013-fantasy-chess. The grand prize is round-trip airfare for two from anywhere in the continental U.S., two nights hotel, a private dinner with GM Yasser Seirawan and two private lessons with Seirawan as well.