MCCL Challenge includes blindfolded game

MADISON – The Madison City Chess League Challenge on Jan. 25 will feature a hard-to-believe game of chess staged under unusual circumstances.

Chess league student Michael Guthrie will play a chess game while blindfolded with his competitor David Kumbroch of WHNT-News 19. Guthrie is a freshman at Bob Jones High School.

Guthrie has been playing ‘blindfold chess’ for about one year. He trains now by sitting blindfolded and playing against a computer’s moves. His mother, MCCL Executive Director Ranae Bartlett, call outs the computer’s moves during the game.

Guthrie and Kumbroch will face off at 5:30 p.m. at the MCCL Chess Challenge at Madison City Schools Central Office, 211 Celtic Drive. Chess league members will play against business and civic leaders in the challenge’s third year.

During the blindfolded game, a person will make moves that Guthrie calls out after he hears Kumbroch’s move using the chess board’s coordinates. These coordinates match with figures that chess players write down as they play a game. Moves will be called for both sides (for example, pawn to e4, or knight to c6).

“We will display moves on a demonstration board so the audience can see how the game is going. All regular rules of chess apply,” Bartlett said.

Practice is imperative to play chess blindfolded. “You’ll see advanced players like Grandmasters play even multiple people simultaneously while blindfolded,” Bartlett said.

International Master Danny Rensch played Madison students while blindfolded during a summer chess camp at Rainbow Elementary School.

“Michael tried it one evening and beat his dad,” Bartlett said. “I watched the game and wrote down the moves. One of the funniest parts was when my husband made an illegal move, and Michael called him on it while blindfolded. Michael told him he couldn’t make that move because his king would be in check!” Bartlett said.

Following the blindfolded match, adults will play against 10-year-olds and younger selected to represent MCCL. “This game with adults will be along the lines of a friendly pick-up game of chess and will end at 7 p.m. — win, lose or draw,” Bartlett said. “We won’t need to use clocks.”

Students are accustomed with a using a clock while making moves but not all adults who play just for fun. “We want to make the challenge enjoyable for adults and won’t keep score as we have in the past,” Bartlett said.

“Kids really enjoy getting the opportunity to play adults. The adults usually walk away impressed with our students’ training and preparation, which is a result of our program,” she said.

Older league students will demonstrate ‘bullet chess,’ completed in one minute while players use a clock. MCCL students demonstrated bulled chess during the Madison Street Festival. “It’s fun to watch,” Bartlett said.

MCCL will accept donations online or mailed to Madison City Chess League, P.O. Box 843, Madison, AL 35758. For more information, visit madisonchess.com.