Cambridge 17 | Test 4 | Passage 3
Timur Gareyev – blindfold chess champion
Next month, a chess player named Timur Gareyev will take on nearly 50 opponents at once. But that is not the hard part. While his challengers will play the game as normal, Gareyev himself will be blindfolded. Even by world record standards, it sets a high bar for human performance. The 28-year-old alreadystands out in the rarefied world of blindfold chess. He has a fondness for bright clothes and unusual hairstyles, and he get his kicks from the adventure sport of BASE jumping. He has already proved himself a strong chess player, too. In a 10-hour chess marathon in 2013, Gareyev played 33 games in his headsimultaneously. He won 29 and lost none. The skill has become his brand: he calls himself the Blindfold King.
opponent (noun) [countable]
/əˈpoʊ.nənt/
a person who someone is competing against in a sports event
He has knocked out 15 opponents in 20 fights.
blindfold (verb) [transitive]
/ˈblaɪnd.foʊld/
to cover someone's eyes with a blindfold
She was blindfolded and taken somewhere in the back of a van.
get your kicks (from) (idiom)
to get enjoyment or pleasure
He gets his kicks from embarrassing his teammates.
