CHICAGO (CBS) — A chess grandmaster, ranked 3rd in the U.S., put his skill at playing blindfolded to the test Friday at the Cook County Jail, beating ten inmates in two hours, without ever seeing any of the chess boards.

WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser reports Timur Gareev visited the jail as part of a program aimed at helping inmates think things through, and be more thoughtful about their actions.

Blindfolded Chess At Cook County Jail A Cook County jail guard blindfolds chess grandmaster Timur Gareev, who played 10 inmates at one time in two hours. (Credit: Mike Krauser)

Timur Gareev plays jail inmates Chess grandmaster Timur Gareev wears a blindfold while playing 10 Cook County Jail inmates at once. (Credit: Mike Krauser)

Timur Gareev plays chess at jail Chess grandmaster Timur Gareev defeated 10 inmates at Cook County Jail, despite playing all 10 at the same time, while wearing a blindfold. (Credit: Mike Krauser)

Timur Gareev Chess grandmaster Timur Gareev wears a blindfold while playing against 10 jail inmates at once. (Credit: Mike Krauser)

Timur Gareev Chess grandmaster Timur Gareev plays 10 games of chess against 10 inmates while wearing a blindfold. (Credit: Mike Krauser)

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, who started the program last year, said the goal is to direct inmates away from their predilection toward seeking out instant gratification, and urge them to think before they act. He said chess teaches people patience and strategy, and acting impulsively will be devastating.

Gareev played against 10 inmates on 10 different chess boards on Friday, with a black bandana covering his eyes. He visualized each game as moves were called out loud, letting him know each of his opponents move as they made them. Still, he couldn’t exactly keep track of every single piece on each board throughout each game.

“It’s kind of almost a visceral sense of the experience that you take in. If you’re trying to memorize every single game, all the moves, all the variations, it’s quite impossible,” Gareev said. “But the memory has all the little tricks that makes it easier to create patterns.”