Saturday afternoon, 10 people filed into the Butler Auditorium in the Triplett Alumni Center to attempt the impossible: they each sought to defeat David Ross, an International Master of Chess, in a game of chess.
While each player was attempting to defeat Ross, his goal was different. He was there to play all 10 players simultaneously. And, as expected, he defeated them all.
At 1 p.m., each of Ross’s opponents took their seat across from a chess board, all sitting in a row. Ross stood, moving up and down the row of 10 tables. Within 30 minutes, Ross had defeated one player and had three more in check. After two hours, Ross bested all 10 challengers.
He said he doesn’t have a photographic memory to aid in his playing.
“I wouldn’t say that I have a photographic memory exactly, more like pattern recognition,” Ross said. “You know that the pieces are supposed to go in certain squares, and then if somebody does something that doesn’t fit in to the best pattern, then I have to slow down and calculate.”
David Ross is undefeated in Mississippi and is considered the best player in the state. In 1998, he gained his status as an International Master after winning a special tournament in Canada. His grandfather taught him to play when he was six years old, but he didn’t enter his first tournament until he was 14. He is a two-time champion in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.
Ross moved to Jackson from Montreal in 2006. Since then, he has been coaching students in both Alabama and Mississippi and has students that are ranked in the top 10 of chess players in the state of Mississippi.
While simultaneously defeating 10 opponents is an admirable feat, it’s not the most players Ross has challenged. Previously, he played and defeated 18 challengers at once. Ross’s opponents were simply honored to have sat across the table from an International Master.
Marvin King, the former faculty advisor for the chess club, said that even though playing Ross was intimidating, the skill of his opponent made it worth it.
“It was nice to lose to somebody that good,” King said. “Normally I lose to average people, so it was a special thrill.”
King added that it wasn’t the most difficult game he’s ever played because there was no pressure. He knew he would lose, so he was able to attempt unusual moves and play free.
However, for Willie McCaleb, an Ole Miss freshman and computer science major, it was the most difficult game he had ever played.
After Ross defeated him, McCaleb, he said “the whole experience was fun,” but added that competing against Ross made his head hurt.
