Whitney Curtis
Chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura (left), the top-ranked chess player in America and 8th in the world at age 23, competes in a game of “bullet chess” against Siddharth Ravishankar, a freshman in Arts & Sciences, Feb. 26 in College Hall on the South 40. Nakamura was on campus for a WUSTL Chess Club event that featured a question-and-answer session and an opportunity for students to test their skills against the best. In bullet chess, players are given a set amount of time to make a move, and Nakamura was given significantly less time than his WUSTL opponents. Nakamura needed just two-and-a-half hours to win 42 games. “Hosting Nakamura was incredible,” says Jacob Zax, a sophomore in Arts & Sciences and president of the Chess Club. “His incomparable skill is not only exhilarating for experienced players, but also intriguing and captivating for people who don’t even know how the pieces move.” Zax was pleased with the turnout and reception Nakamura received. “This event demonstrates that our young club is committed to, and capable of, building a community of chess players on campus,” Zax says.