UT Dallas Chess Team Members Play Blindfolded While Preparing For Final Four

RICHARDSON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - As the UT Dallas Chess Team prepares to head to the Final Four of Chess in New York in April, two of the UTD players took on other students, staff and the public in a blindfolded chess demonstration on Wednesday.

One player was blindfolded so he could not see the chess board.

The second player told him the moves that the opponent was making, and the player who was blindfolded told the move he wanted to make to the other player.

While Joshua Ruiz, a grandmaster, had a teammate tell him his opponents moves, it was up to Ruiz to picture the board in his mind.

"It helps you calculate deeper and more precisely.  It gets easier as you play more games," he said.

The UT Dallas Chess Team is one of the best in the nation year in and year out.

This year's trip to the Final Four of Chess marks the 17th time in 20 years that UT Dallas has earned a place at this tournament.

They say playing blindfolded helps them train for the competition.