There was no Kasparov or Deep Blue — just four college kids taking on 55 murderers, rapists and kidnappers.
On Friday, Princeton chess club members Brandon Ashe '04, Jonathan Heckman '04, Ian Prevost '05 and Samson Benen '07, traveled to Trenton to play chess against inmates at the maximum-security New Jersey State Prison.
Each student played 13 to 14 inmates simultaneously. At the end of the three hours of play, the chess club picked up 50 wins and three draws. Two prisoners managed to win their games.
The relationship between the prison and the chess club began last year when BeneCard Services, Inc., a local prescription drug distributor, looked for people to play against inmates. John Marshall, a vice president at BeneCard, contacted Ashe, the club president, who gladly accepted.
"Chess is an activity that prisoners can engage in, so its good to encourage it," Heckman said. "We have fun playing [and] we want to share the fun with other people."
Anthony Sarlo, the prison's director of education, said 102 inmates signed up for the event though there were only 55 spots. There are already plans to bring the University club members back later this year.
'In the slammer'
After donning security passes, being frisked and having their cell phones confiscated, the Princeton students proceeded to the prison gym where inmates in beige outfits were at work setting up for the showdown.
"It's intense being in the slammer," Benen said before he and fellow club members began to help the inmates set up chess boards. "The setup looks nice, the equipment looks nice, but it's hard to ignore the fact that we are in a hardcore, high-security prison."
Inmates at the prison were also excited about the event.
"I'm ready to go ahead and get my game up," said Michael Bell, an inmate who refused to discuss his crime or how long he had been in prison.
"This is the game of chess," he said. "Let's play chess."
When the games started, club members moved swiftly from board to board, often spending fewer than five seconds at each one. The room was completely silent with only the soft thud of chess pieces moving from square to square disturbing the quiet.
As the games progressed, the silence slowly disappeared as chatter took over. "Don't let him control the center of the board," said one inmate to his neighbor.
"Don't charge, he gonna kill ya," another added.
"Nah man, you gotta fake 'em out. That's the thing about chess . . . Gotta sacrifice. Be open minded," still another offered.
"I pay 'em no heed. I'm just here to win this game," said Michael Watson, 36. Watson is serving 40 years for murder during a robbery and kidnapping.
Within five minutes the students had their first win with Benen beating Albert Lang, 37, who is serving time for murder. Benen simply smiled upon winning and immediately extended his hand.
Lang was noticeably upset about his quick loss. "Anybody else get knocked down?" Lang asked.
"Nah, you're the first one," said Bell laughing, who was two seats away from Lang.
Later in game, Bell was in his own tight spot. "Damn it! Here I go making stupid mistakes," he said, slapping his head in frustration.
Bell lost a few minutes later. "He had his hand sticking out, smiling and I was like, 'Wait a second!'" Bell said. "But, I give him credit. I give credit where credit is due."
Bell took issue with the media's coverage of last year's event, when one prisoner defeated a University student.
"They can't give the man his props, so they put dirt on him," said Bell, referring to the media's interest in the crimes. "How does what I have supposedly do here [have] to do with chess?"
Watson took a strikingly different view.
"I was wrongfully convicted of a crime, and I wouldn't mind speaking to the public about it," he said.
Watson, who has been in prison for seven months, is currently waiting for an attorney to pick up his case, which is on appeal.
Watson's younger sister graduated college and got married last year. While he was in prison, she had a baby boy.
"I'm winning this game for my nephew!" Watson said.
Watson eventually lost his match to Heckman. "I lost, but you know I hate to lose in chess," Watson said. "Next time, I hope that I meet them on the street and play."
Inmates win
In the final moments of the three hours of play, the inmates managed two wins. While one inmate chose a low-key exit, Quddos Farrad, 57, opted to embrace the media interest.
"I feel good 'cause we hadn't won today," Farrad said to a gaggle of three television cameras and four reporters.
Inmates who won or drew against the University club members were allowed to pick for themselves any one of 2,000 books that chess grandmaster Jude Acers is donating to the prison.
At the end of the day, the four Princeton players emerged happy.
"I'm pleased," Ashe said, adding that he was stunned by the inmate's style of play. "They've got some pretty good talent. They were playing passively. They were daring me to attack them. It was unbelievable. I'm not used to it."
Heckman was enthusiastic about returning to the prison to play the inmates. "Ya, I definitely want to do it again," he said.
Benen said he was "pleasantly surprised by the positive attitudes of the inmates. I felt they really wanted to play, which made me want to play."
"It's amazing how you can take two diametrically opposed people, put them over a chess board, and suddenly they relate," he said.
Before leaving the prison, Ashe, Prevost, Marshall and Forster were presented with handmade chess sets by prison administrator Roy Hendricks as a token of thanks for two years of participating in the program.
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