During super humid & hot summer season in Japan, from New Caledonia, Grand Master Samy Shoker visited Tokyo Bilingual Chess Club to play a simultaneous exhibition and blindfold game against kids, junior and adult players on August 3th, 2024.  

It's not everyday chess players in Japan get to hear from a grand master.  This event was the 3rd time as Samy comes back to Tokyo every summer. 

GM Shoker played seperate chess games against 18 attendees at one time—twelve children and five adults, ratings from approximately 400 up to 2200+, including CM Alex and Joan sensei.  It was announced that his opponents should wait for him to appear at their boards before they make their moves.  Your best chance to draw or win against a chess master is to play in a simultaneous exhibition. 

How did grandmaster develop the blindfold chess ability? GM Samy😎demonstrated a blindfold chess game against us formed into a team of 15.

Blindfold chess is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces and do not touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces. Moves are communicated via a recognized chess notation, done by CM Alex Averbukh.

Everyone had a fun time watching and learning more about the game, and the players all enjoyed playing such a famous grand master who came from outside of Japan.  We also had a surprise guest, IM Shinya Kojima, who has stopped by during the event to observe his student's game.  Also, photo credits go to Joan sensei. Thank you for beautiful photos!  It is absolutely astounding that we have access to these talented coaches.

Thank you to GM Shoker for a lasting, memorable, and inspirational experience that will be remembered for years to come for kids. 

Now, ‘Meet GM Shoker!’ Fundraiser is complete. We just wanted to say a huge thank you to support part of GM Shoker’s flight costs!  We couldn’t do this simultaneous exhibition without amazing people like you. 

We’d love to keep in touch to let you know the difference that your support has made in the chess community in this country.