3/4/2019 – When you think about popularizing the game of chess, a lot of ideas may cross your mind, but few could be crazier than what Timur Gareyev did in collaboration with US Chess Federation last year: Sky-diving for the Chess Life magazine cover. Watch the amazing video and read a new interview along with recollections from IM Sagar Shah on Gareyev's trip through India. Next stop: The U.S. Championship in St. Louis!

12/18/2018 – Vidit Gujrathi, the youngest Indian to breach the 2700 Elo mark, is known for his thorough opening preparation and solid style of play. But while his bent is more towards positional niceties, his vivid imagination and almost impeccable calculation let him transcend styles on demand. The following video shows Vidit’s mind in action as he solves four studies and a real-game puzzle, while also explaining how he found his way through the woods of variations.

1/20/2018 – The overriding theme of Fritz 16’s new functions is chess improvement, and among them is a special feature for blindfold chess that can help you refine your visualization skills like no other. It was designed to help players who cannot play a blindfold game yet. The following tutorial not only shows you how it works, but also techniques to fast-track your improvement. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

1/8/2018 – The seventh round of Eka by IIFLIM International Chess tournament 2017-18 saw a very interesting event: an exciting blindfold simul starring GM Timur Gareyev! The Blindfold King was challenged by 12 young chess players, some of whom gave a very tough fight. Avathanshu Bhat, who was also in the simul, reported on the event. Timur not only played the simul scoring 10½ / 12 (with 3 draws), he also won his classical game against a 2300+ opponent and then came to the commentary studio to explain his win in a 25 minute masterclass! At the end of the day all we can think is, where does the man get all this energy from?! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

12/5/2017 – Henry Nelson Pillsbury was one of the strongest players of his time who never became World Champion. He impressed his contemporaries with his fantastic memory and his amazing blindfold exhibitions. He died at only 33 years of age from syphilis, and suffering from mental illness. Today, December 5, 2017, would be his 145th birthday.

11/13/2017 – Talent shows such as Britain’s Got Talent, now exported to many other countries, American Idol, and so many others are now staples of contemporary TV, but it takes a country such as Russia to feature such a show with winning performances by chess players playing chess! But not only chess, of course. Enjoy this look at "Amazing People". | Photo: WeiT Media

9/29/2017 – Yes, it's a real thing! Yesterday was National Poetry Day, an annual celebration of poetry in the United Kingdom, and it reminded us of a unusual chess connection involving Jennifer Shahade playing blindfold while a computer "ChessBard" generated live poetry based on the moves played. Shahade has pioneered events combining chess and art, and annotated games for the book Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess. A new book on Duchamp, coming out next week, is a collection of his games as reimagined by the "ChessBard". You can compose your own works of art on chesspoetry.com. | Photo: Tony Yueh

1/14/2017 – On December 4, 2016, Timur Gareyev played against 48 opponents in a blindfold simul that lasted nearly 20 hours to set the new world record, a truly unbelievable exhibition of human strength and stamina. However, the road to the record was one of extensive preparation during which he met with leading experts in memory techniques, and even brought in the last surviving opponent of Najdorf's 1947 record, 92-year-old Luciano Andrade. Here is the full story behind the world record.

12/5/2016 – On December 3, at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas Timur Gareyev made an attempt to break the world record in blindfold simultaneous play. Without seeing the board Gareyev played against 48 opponents at the same time, more than any player before him. With a mask before his eyes and on an exercise bike. 35 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses later Gareyev could say: "Yes, world record."

9/28/2016 – GM Timur Gareyev is a man with a mission: the man who likes to call himself "Blindfold King" wants to set records in blindfold chess. And he does: on September 24th, at the Coralville Marriott Hotel in Iowa, from 9:32 in the morning to 7:45 in the evening, he played 64 consecutive blindfold games, winning 54, losing 8 and drawing 2. That's a new world record!

6/2/2016 – By now you have seen and read the reports on GM Timur Gareev and his blindfold chess exploits. Aside from his unique focus, and fashion sense, his chess is also very attractive with a disregard for material and talent for attack that make for very enjoyable viewing. Sharing his understanding, he recorded a 60-minute masterclass on the initiative.

5/31/2016 – The Caissa Amsterdam chess club, the largest chess club in Amsterdam, just celebrated its 65th anniversary. In honor of the moment they organized a series of activities for both the youth as well as the adults in the club. One of thesewas a blindfold simul by Timur Gareyev on thirteen boards. Lennart Ootes was there and brought some excellent photos.

4/6/2016 – In 2016 Timur Gareyev wants to break the world record in blindfold play by taking up 47 opponents simultaneously. In March he played a 35 player blindfold simul in Santa Clara, California. Gareyev lost one game, drew two and won 32. As Gareyev believes that physical fitness and mental excellence go together he spun a stationary bike for over 9 hours during the simul!

8/8/2015 – In 1934 Alexander Alekhine and George Koltanowski set this world record for Tandem Blindfold Chess, playing six opponents with a score of +3 =2 –1. Last week in Germany two blindfold experts, GM Timur Gareev and Marc Lang broke this 80-year record by playing seven opponents. Together they won five games and drew two,making them the new wonder twins. Report by Jennifer Vallens.

5/29/2015 – Carlsen did a blindfold exhibition in New York, blitzing three opponents in a clock simul, averaging three minutes per opponent. Normally, there is no video available from the conference because it is only open to paying attendees ($5000 admission fee) and a few invited guests. However, the video link has been made available to the public who can see the mindboggling exhibition.

7/29/2014 – It is almost impossible to imagine the hurdles a person without eyesight must leap over in life, and one can only commisserate and admire those who do. Meet Lucas de Jong, a 21-year-old young man who attends business school, and who is playing at the NK Open. Every day he comes to the rounds, accompanied by his faithful Okie, who is at his side at all times. An inspiring story.

9/11/2013 – Uzbek grandmaster Timur Gareev, who now resides in San Diego, has, as our readers know, been touring California in the past months. He brings us pictures of the Burning Man festival and the biggest living entity on the planet. He also tells us about his experiences with blindfold simultaneous exhibitions, and a plan to break the world record. Anyone like to host it?

5/4/2013 – "Impressive doesn't begin to describe it," wrote Mike Wilmering of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, one of the organisers of the blindfold simul given by GM Timur Gareev to kick off the 2013 U.S. Championships in Saint Louis. "It was amazing. I was awestruck." The simul took ten hours and 39 minutes, and Gareev finished it with 29 wins, four draws and zero losses. Pictorial report.