| GM Timur Gareev defeats 29 in blindfold simul |
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| By Mike Wilmering | |
| May 1, 2013 | |
 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 of 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. Play through some of Timur's games: 6754 6755 6757 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, with the Opening Ceremony taking place the evening of May 2 and the first round of play beginning at 1 p.m. CT on May 3.Visit www.uschesschamps.com for more info. The participating players in the simul, their board numbers, and their current USCF ratings are as follows (the * denotes the players that played GM Gareev to a draw): August Meyer: 987 * Steve Mislich: 1642 Lou Cotton: unr. Ben Boaz: 1269 Joe Wojcki: 1817 Richard Pack: 1881 Ken West: 1269 Sal Falcone: unr. * William Little: 1515 Ed Protzel: unr. Joe Baur: unr. Tim Baur: 487 Abdul Shakoor: 1176 Diamond Shakoor: 1259 Micah Losee: 1770 Julian Proleiko: 1735 Josh Cardenas: 1334 Jim Smith: 739 Preethi Kembaiyan: 1228 Yizheng He: 1160 Adam Eubanks: 1321 * Justin Hull: 1673 Sathya Anand: 1423 Katie Stujenske: 544 Willy Kane: 1871 Alex Marler: 2012 Adonis "Mark" Reddick: 1548 * Tony Rich: 2020 Sarah Crawford: 476 Jonathan Lake: 581 Richard Pointer: 1594 Brian Jerauld: 1762 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. About The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures. Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more information, visit www.saintlouischessclub.org. |
