Derren Brown Beats Grandmasters by Secretly Mirroring Their Own Moves

Derren Brown

Brown secured an overall victory against nine opponents by secretly relaying moves between eight paired masters to guarantee an even split, relying on a single genuine game against the weakest player to tip the score.

AI-assisted summary of Derren Brown vs 9 Chess Players — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published: 2015-11-11

Key ideas

Derren Brown stages a simultaneous chess exhibition against nine opponents, including four world-rated Grandmasters, despite privately acknowledging to viewers that his personal chess ability is poor. (0:03)
Brown finishes the simultaneous session with an aggregate winning record of four wins, three losses, and two draws, including victories against two Grandmasters. (3:18)
A sealed prediction envelope handed to player Graham Lee prior to the match accurately details the final surviving piece counts across every board, including an annotated error. (3:18)
The simultaneous stunt relied on secretly mirroring moves between four pairs of masters across eight boards, while Brown only genuinely played against the weakest player in the room. (7:25)

Detailed notes

## Background Published on YouTube by Derren Brown on November 11, 2015, the video depicts the mentalist taking on nine highly skilled chess opponents, including four international Grandmasters, in a simultaneous exhibition.

## TL;DR Derren Brown challenges nine elite chess players simultaneously, admitting to viewers that his chess skill is poor while bluffing the masters into believing he has intensively studied their play. Across the nine tables, he secures an overall room victory with four wins, three losses, and two draws, astonishing the participants further by opening a sealed envelope that accurately predicted the exact count of pieces remaining on each board. Brown subsequently reveals the core method behind the feat: he mentally paired eight of the grandmasters and masters against one another by memorizing and mirroring their moves across opposite tables, needing only to win a single genuine game against the least experienced player on the final board to secure the overall victory.

## Atmosphere & style The presentation carries a sharp contrast between Derren Brown's candid, self-deprecating commentary to the camera and the poised, intimidating atmosphere within the playing hall. Watching seasoned Grandmasters display genuine bewilderment and humility creates an aura of quiet suspense and intellectual tension. The mood shifts effortlessly from high-stakes mentalism to an engaging, mischievous reveal as Brown exposes the mechanics of the game, ultimately closing with a playful, enigmatic shrug regarding the piece-count prediction.

## Bulletin - [00:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=3s) Derren Brown stages a simultaneous chess exhibition against nine opponents, including four world-rated Grandmasters, despite privately acknowledging to viewers that his personal chess ability is poor. - [03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) Brown finishes the simultaneous session with an aggregate winning record of four wins, three losses, and two draws, including victories against two Grandmasters. - [03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) A sealed prediction envelope handed to player Graham Lee prior to the match accurately details the final surviving piece counts across every board, including an annotated error. - [07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) The simultaneous stunt relied on secretly mirroring moves between four pairs of masters across eight boards, while Brown only genuinely played against the weakest player in the room.

## Key takeaways - [00:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=3s) Derren Brown faces nine formidable opponents at once, a lineup featuring four Grandmasters, several Masters, and a university chess club president. - [00:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=3s) Brown highlights the immense calculation gap in chess, contrasting a Grandmaster's twenty-move foresight with his own admission of having poor chess skills. - [00:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=3s) Brown uses psychological misdirection, falsely claiming to the room that he spent a year studying their individual playing transcripts. - [00:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=3s) Before play begins, Graham Lee is handed a sealed envelope to hold inside his jacket pocket under strict instructions not to open or tamper with it. - [03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) The simultaneous games conclude with Brown earning four wins, three losses, and two draws, defeating two Grandmasters in the process. - [03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) Participants praise Brown's tactical sharpness, with seasoned masters remarking that his moves felt like playing against a top-tier grandmaster. - [03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) Brown writes out a multi-digit number representing the exact count of pieces left on each board before asking the players to tally their remaining pieces. - [03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) Graham Lee opens the sealed envelope from the start of the match to find the identical sequence of remaining pieces, including a note marking a mistake on table one. - [07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) Brown reveals that he did not play chess against eight of the opponents, but instead mentally paired them up across the room. - [07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) By memorizing and transferring moves between paired tables—such as table one versus table five—the masters were effectively playing each other through Brown. - [07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) Mirroring four pairs mathematically guarantees an even point balance across those eight boards regardless of how the individual games unfold. - [07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) Brown secures an overall room victory by targeting table nine, playing a legitimate game against the least experienced opponent to tip the overall score. - [07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) Brown intentionally leaves the method behind the sealed piece-count prediction unexplained, brushing it off with a comedic deflection.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=3s) The Simultaneous Chess Challenge

Derren Brown introduces the formidable roster of nine elite chess opponents assembled in the adjoining room. The lineup includes FIDE Master Graham Lee, Grandmaster John Nunn, Grandmaster Julian Hodgson, International Master Paul Littlewood, former England junior Desmond Tan, Grandmaster Jonathan Levitt, Grandmaster Chris Ward, FIDE Master Nathan Alfred, and Robert Chan, president of the King's College London Chess Society. Brown explains the immense intellectual disparity involved: an average-to-good chess player calculates roughly two to three moves ahead, whereas a Grandmaster can look ahead as many as twenty moves. Among his opponents are rising circuit stars, International Masters, and four world-rated Grandmasters.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: The Simultaneous Chess Challenge Roster accDescr: Diagram grouping the nine chess players facing Derren Brown by their titles and experience.

subgraph GM["Grandmasters"] direction TB G1["John Nunn"] G2["Julian Hodgson"] G3["Jonathan Levitt"] G4["Chris Ward"] end

subgraph IM_FM["Masters & Juniors"] direction TB M1["Graham Lee (FIDE Master)"] M2["Paul Littlewood (International Master)"] M3["Nathan Alfred (FIDE Master)"] M4["Desmond Tan (Former England Junior)"] end

subgraph Club["University Chess"] C1["Robert Chan (President, KCL Chess Society)"] end ```

Despite the caliber of these players, Brown announces his intention to take them all on simultaneously. He openly admits to the viewers that his strategy does not rely on chess mastery: “I'm going to go in there and absolutely lie to them.” He hopes these psychological deceptions will give him enough of an edge to defeat a few of them and perhaps even take down a Grandmaster. As a frank caveat to the audience, he adds: “Do bear in mind as you watch this, my chess is shit.”

Addressing the room, Brown adopts an entirely different persona. He thanks the masters for their time, falsely assuring them that his chess is very good and that he spent an entire year reading game transcripts to familiarize himself with their playing styles. Before beginning, he hands a sealed envelope to Graham Lee at table one, asking him to keep it safe inside his jacket pocket without opening it until the end of the session. He also explicitly assures the players that no trickery, supercomputers, or hidden earpieces are involved in the demonstration.

[03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) The Games Conclude and the Prediction Reveal

As the simultaneous games wrap up, the stunned chess masters reflect on the matches and Brown's surprising caliber of play. One player admits, “I lost. I was beaten by the better man. I thought I was playing okay, but he just came up with some really good moves.” Another grandmaster confesses that during the first fifteen moves, “I felt as though I was playing a leading grandmaster opponent.” Julian Hodgson, a four-time British champion and a mainstay of top-tier English chess for fifteen years, concedes that what Brown achieved was extraordinarily impressive. Across the nine tables, Brown achieves four wins, three losses, and two draws—delivering an overall group victory that includes wins over two Grandmasters.

Before concluding, Brown asks each participant to count the exact number of their own pieces remaining on their board. He writes a long number on a pad—61171061118105—and asks if it means anything to them. Going down the tables, each player reads out their remaining piece count: - Table 1 (Graham Lee): 7 pieces (Brown remarks, “that's a mistake then. That should be a seven”) - Table 2: 11 pieces - Table 3: 1 piece - Table 4: 7 pieces - Table 5: 10 pieces - Table 6: 6 pieces - Table 7: 11 pieces - Table 8: 8 pieces - Table 9: 10 pieces (preceding Robert Chan) - Table 10 / Final Board (Robert Chan): 5 pieces

Brown invites Graham Lee forward to open the sealed envelope that had remained untouched in his jacket pocket since the very start of the match. Inside is a written slip showing the exact sequence: `6 (mistake) 11 7 10 6 11 8 10 5`. Lee and the other players are dumbfounded, with Lee affirming that the envelope was never switched or touched: “This game finished because it was a draw at some random point and yet he's predicted the number of pieces left in all the games. This is going to keep me awake tonight.”

[07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) The Secret Revealed: Pairing and Mirroring

Brown pulls back the curtain to reveal the core method behind the simultaneous exhibition. The entire setup hinges on mentally dividing eight of the top players into four pairs across the room. He assigns Graham Lee at table one (playing White) against Desmond Tan at table five (playing Black). When Graham opened with 1. e4, Brown did not formulate a response; he simply memorized the move, walked across to table five, and played 1. e4 against Desmond. Desmond countered with 1... c5 (the Sicilian Defence). Brown committed that reply to memory, walked back to table one, and mirrored 1... c5 against Graham.

```mermaid flowchart LR accTitle: The Mirror Technique in Simultaneous Chess accDescr: Flowchart illustrating how Derren Brown mirrors moves between Table 1 and Table 5 without playing his own moves.

subgraph PairOne["Paired Opponents"] T1["Table 1: Graham Lee (White)"] T5["Table 5: Desmond Tan (Black)"] end

subgraph Derren["Derren Brown (Conduit)"] M["Memorize & Transfer Moves"] end

T1 -->|"1. e4"| M M -->|"Plays 1. e4"| T5 T5 -->|"1... c5"| M M -->|"Plays 1... c5"| T1 ```

Brown explains the broader mechanism: “I'm not actually playing chess with either of them. I'm just remembering the moves and then mirroring them across on the other person's table. In fact, they're playing chess with each other.” Running this system across tables one through eight creates four self-contained games between the masters: - Moves from Table 1 are relayed to Table 5, and Table 5's replies are relayed back to Table 1. - Moves from Table 2 are relayed to Table 6, and Table 6's replies go back to Table 2. - Moves from Table 3 are relayed to Table 7, and Table 7's replies go back to Table 3. - Moves from Table 4 are relayed to Table 8, and Table 8's replies go back to Table 4.

Because each pair is playing against one another through Brown, the four pairs will inevitably produce an equal balance of wins and losses (or draws), balancing Brown's record at four points on one side and four on the other. To guarantee an overall winning record against the room, Brown isolates Table 9. Robert Chan, the university chess club president, is the least experienced player in the room. By playing a single genuine game of chess against Chan and defeating him, Brown tips the overall room score in his favor: “Robert is the least strong player of the group, and as long as I beat him, the result will tip in my favor. That's how I win.” As for how he pulled off the sealed prediction of the exact remaining piece counts, Brown wryly signs off with a classic magician's dodge: “As for how I predicted the number of pieces left on each board, I genuinely can't remember. Good night.”

## Mentioned Derren Brown, Graham Lee, John Nunn, Julian Hodgson, Paul Littlewood, Desmond Tan, Jonathan Levitt, Chris Ward, Nathan Alfred, Robert Chan, King's College London Chess Society, FIDE, Sicilian Defence

## Video description Derren takes on 9 highly skilled chess players, including 4 Grandmasters of the game, all at once.

For more subscribe to our channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialDerren #DerrenBrown #DerrenBrownMiracle #DerrenBrownShowman

[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc)

中文简报

达伦·布朗暗中利用大师棋步互搏击败多名特级大师布朗在与九名对手的对局中取得整体胜利，他暗中在八名配对的大师之间传招以确保战平，仅凭对阵最弱选手的唯一一场真实对局决出胜负。达伦·布朗同时挑战九名顶级棋手，他向观众坦承自己的棋艺并不高超，却让大师们误以为他曾深入研究过他们的棋路。在这九张棋盘上，他以四胜三负两平的总成绩拿下全场胜利，随后拆开一个密封信封，精准预测了每张棋盘上剩余棋子的确切数量，令在场选手大为震惊。布朗随后揭晓了这一壮举背后的核心手法：他暗中将其中八位特级大师与大师两两配对，通过记忆并在对应棋盘之间镜像复刻彼此的棋步，自己只需在最后一张棋盘上战胜经验最浅的棋手，即可锁定整体胜局。达伦·布朗与包括四名世界排名的特级大师在内的九名对手进行车轮战，尽管他私下向观众坦承自己的棋艺并不好。 (0:03) 布朗以四胜三负两平的总战绩结束了这场车轮战，其中还击败了两位特级大师。 (3:18) 比赛前交给棋手格雷厄姆·李的一个密封预测信封，准确详述了每张棋盘最终残留棋子的数量，甚至包含一处注明修正的误差。 (3:18) 这场车轮战的玄机在于暗中将八张棋盘上的四对大师互相镜像传招，而布朗全场仅真正与最弱的一名选手交手。 (7:25)

Detailed notes — zh

## Background 该视频由知名魔术师兼心理学家达伦·布朗（Derren Brown）于2015年11月11日发布在YouTube官方频道。视频简介指出，达伦·布朗在这一挑战中同时对战九位技艺高超的国际象棋高手，其中包括四位国际象棋特级大师（Grandmaster）。 ## TL;DR 达伦·布朗在公开宣称自己棋艺极差的情况下，向包括四位特级大师在内的九位顶尖棋手发起同时车轮战。赛前他将一个预测信封交给一名棋手保管，随后在九张棋盘间游走博弈，最终取得了四胜三负两平的惊人战绩，并精准预测了各棋盘最后剩余的棋子数量。达伦在赛后揭秘，他利用了经典的“镜像对局”骗术，将前八名高手两两配对并互相复制招式，仅集中精力击败实力相对最弱的第九位棋手，从而锁定了整体胜局。 ## Atmosphere & style 整段视频充满了紧张悬疑的智力对决氛围与经典的英伦魔术戏剧感。达伦·布朗在镜头前狡黠自信，一边以云淡风轻的态度对观众坦白谎言，一边在棋盘间展现出近乎超人类的专注与沉稳，形成强烈的心理反差。从大师们从轻视到惊愕的微表情变化，到最后信封拆开时全场窒息般的震撼与谜底揭晓时的幽默收尾，观看体验宛如欣赏一场精心编排的高智商心理骗局。 ## Bulletin - [00:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=3s) 心理魔术师达伦·布朗挑战同时对决九位英国顶尖国际象棋高手，其中包括四名特级大师，最终取得4胜3负2平的惊人战绩。 - [03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) 比赛结束时，达伦·布朗在赛前交给选手的密封信封中，精准预测了九张棋盘各自剩余的棋子数量，震撼全场棋手。 - [07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) 达伦·布朗随后揭秘核心骗术：前八张棋盘通过两两配对进行镜像走子，实质上是让大师互相博弈以抵消战绩，自己仅需击败实力相对最弱的第九位选手即可锁定胜局。 ## Key takeaways - [00:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=3s) 达伦·布朗的九位挑战对手阵容豪华，涵盖了四位特级大师、多位国际大师以及大学棋社主席等国家级顶尖水平选手。 - [00:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=3s) 虽然特级大师通常能够预测深达二十步棋，但达伦·布朗坦白自己棋艺极差，全靠心理战与骗术布局应对。 - [01:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=92s) 达伦·布朗通过谎称自己备战一年并彻底摸透所有对手棋路，从心理上给顶尖大师施加巨大压力。 - [01:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=92s) 在比赛开局前，达伦·布朗将一个密封信封交给1号桌选手保管，并在对局中严格遵守无作弊工具的公开规则。 - [03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) 对局过程中大师们对达伦·布朗展现的精妙棋力深感震惊，四届英国冠军朱利安·霍奇森等人更对其表现给予了极高评价。 - [03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) 达伦·布朗最终收获4胜3负2平的总战绩，在击败两名特级大师的同时实现了对顶尖棋手团队的整体胜局。 - [03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) 赛后拆封的信封纸条精准预言了全部九张棋盘最终剩余的棋子数量序列，令大师们感到不可思议。 - [07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) 前八台的胜利幻象建立在经典的“镜像对局”骗术之上：达伦·布朗通过记忆将四组选手的走子相互复制，实质是让他们互相对局。 - [07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) 镜像机制注定了前八张棋盘的战果必然对等抵消，整个挑战的最终胜负完全取决于实力最弱的第9号桌罗伯特·陈。 - [07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) 达伦·布朗仅凭击败第九位对手就改变了总比分，而对于信封中棋子数量预测的具体手法，他在片尾选择幽默保留悬念。 ## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=3s) 挑战前的谎言与心理战准备在这场令人屏息的挑战中，魔术师兼心理学家达伦·布朗（Derren Brown）将同时对战九位英国顶尖的国际象棋高手。这九位对手阵容豪华，包括：FIDE大师格雷厄姆·李（Graham Lee）、特级大师约翰·埃姆斯（John Emms）、特级大师朱利安·霍奇森（Julian Hodgson）、国际大师保罗·利特尔伍德（Paul Littlewood）、前英格兰青年队选手戴斯蒙德·谭（Desmond Tan）、特级大师乔纳森·莱维特（Jonathan Levitt）、特级大师克里斯·沃德（Chris Ward）、FIDE大师内森·阿尔弗雷德（Nathan Alfred），以及伦敦国王学院国际象棋协会主席罗伯特·陈（Robert Chan）。普通棋手在对局中通常只能预测两到三步棋，而一位国际象棋特级大师则能看透多达二十步。面对这样一个由四位世界级特级大师和多位国际大师组成的强敌阵容，达伦·布朗坦言自己将完全依赖心理学技巧和多年积累的“骗术”来应对。他对着镜头狡黠地笑道： > “在观看时请记住，我的国际象棋水平其实烂透了。” 他计划通过对这些高手撒谎来获取心理优势，甚至希望能借此击败一两位特级大师。 --- ### [01:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=92s) 棋局开始与神秘的信封达伦·布朗走进赛场，礼貌地向大师们致意。为了给对手施加心理压力，他编造了一个完美的谎言，声称自己为了这次对决准备了整整一年，期间不仅研读了大量的对局记录，还深入熟悉了在座每位棋手的棋路。在比赛正式宣告开始前，达伦做了一个令人摸不着头脑的举动——他将一个密封的信封交给了1号桌的格雷厄姆·李，并嘱咐他将其妥善保管在西装内侧的口袋里，直到比赛结束才能打开。为了消除大师们的疑虑，达伦特意向大家保证，现场绝对没有任何作弊手段。他强调： > “这里没有连接任何超级计算机，约翰，也没有戴任何耳麦。这一切绝对都是公开、公正、合规的。” 随着达伦的一声祝你好运，这场一对九的闭合式车轮战正式拉开帷幕。达伦在九张棋盘之间来回踱步，神情专注，仿佛脑海中正在进行着成千上万次复杂的推演。 --- ### [03:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=198s) 惊人的战绩与不可思议的棋子预测比赛的过程异常激烈。随着对局的推进，大师们开始对达伦的“棋力”感到震惊。一位输掉比赛的棋手在赛后由衷地赞叹道，自己被一个更优秀的对手击败了，达伦在关键时刻走出了几步极其精妙的棋。曾四次获得英国冠军的特级大师朱利安·霍奇森也对达伦的表现给予了极高的评价： > “他今天所做的一切极其令人印象深刻。” 甚至有棋手认为，达伦的国际象棋造诣已经完全可以与特级大师平起平坐。最终的比赛结果令人震惊：达伦在四张棋盘上赢得了胜利，输掉了三张，并与另外两张棋盘握手言和。这意味着，在面对这群国家级顶尖高手的围剿时，达伦不仅整体上取得了胜利，甚至还击败了两名特级大师！然而，真正的震撼才刚刚开始。在宣布结果后，达伦要求每位棋手在离场前数清自己棋盘上剩余的本方棋子数量。随后，他在白板上写下了一串数字，并逐一询问每张棋盘的剩余棋子数： - 1号桌（格雷厄姆）：7颗（达伦的白板上写着6，他开玩笑说“这是个小失误，应该写7”） - 2号桌：11颗 - 3号桌：1颗 - 4号桌：7颗 - 5号桌：10颗 - 6号桌：6颗 - 7号桌：11颗 - 8号桌：8颗 - 9号桌（罗伯特）：5颗接着，达伦请格雷厄姆·李从口袋里掏出那个从比赛开始前就从未被任何人碰过的密封信封。当格雷厄姆拆开信封并取出里面的纸条时，全场陷入了死一般的寂静——纸条上赫然写着一模一样的数字序列，精准预测了每张棋盘上剩余的棋子数量。格雷厄姆彻底惊呆了，他对着镜头保证信封绝无调包的可能，并惊叹道： > “这事今晚会让我彻底失眠。” ```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: 达伦·布朗的国际象棋镜像策略 accDescr: 展示达伦·布朗如何通过将8名棋手两两配对并相互复制招式，同时在第9张棋盘进行真实对局来赢得比赛。 subgraph Pairs [两两配对镜像（共4对）] T1["1号桌：格雷厄姆 (白棋)"] T5["5号桌：戴斯蒙德 (黑棋)"] T1 -->|"1. 走子 (e4)"| DB1["达伦·布朗 (记忆)"] DB1 -->|"2. 复制招式 (e4)"| T5 T5 -->|"3. 应对 (c5)"| DB2["达伦·布朗 (记忆)"] DB2 -->|"4. 复制应对 (c5)"| T1 end subgraph RealGame [真实对局（决定胜负）] T9["9号桌：罗伯特 (实力最弱)"] DB_Real["达伦·布朗 (亲自对局)"] DB_Real <-->|"真实博弈"| T9 end style T1 fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px style T5 fill:#bbf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px style T9 fill:#bfb,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px ``` --- ### [07:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc&t=445s) 揭秘：镜像对局与制胜的第九张棋盘在节目的最后，达伦·布朗向观众揭开了这个看似不可能的神迹背后的秘密。原来，他根本没有和这些大师们进行真正的智力博弈，而是利用了一个经典的“镜像对局”骗术。达伦在脑海中将前八位棋手两两配对（例如，将1号桌的格雷厄姆与5号桌的戴斯蒙德配对）。格雷厄姆执白棋先行，走出了第一步“兵到E4”。达伦默默记下这一步，走到5号桌，在戴斯蒙德的棋盘上同样下出“兵到E4”。当戴斯蒙德做出应对（如“兵到C5”）后，达伦再记下这一步，走回1号桌复制给格雷厄姆。达伦解释道： > “我实际上并没有和他们中的任何一个人下棋。我只是记住这些招式，然后把它们镜像复制到另一个人的棋盘上。事实上，是他们在互相和对方下棋。” 通过这种方法，前八张棋盘（四对选手）的胜负会自动抵消，达伦稳稳地获得四胜四负（或包含平局）的对等战绩。而真正决定整场挑战胜负的关键，在于第9号桌。9号桌的罗伯特·陈是所有人中实力相对最弱的一位，达伦只需要集中精力与他进行一场真正的对局。只要击败罗伯特，达伦就能将总比分改写为优势局，从而赢得整场挑战。至于他是如何精准预测每张棋盘上剩余棋子数量的，达伦在片尾留下了一个幽默的悬念： > “至于我是如何预测每个棋盘上剩余棋子数量的，我真的不记得了。晚安。” ## Mentioned 达伦·布朗, 格雷厄姆·李, 约翰·埃姆斯, 朱利安·霍奇森, 保罗·利特尔伍德, 戴斯蒙德·谭, 乔纳森·莱维特, 克里斯·沃德, 内森·阿尔弗雷德, 罗伯特·陈, 伦敦国王学院国际象棋协会 ## Video description Derren takes on 9 highly skilled chess players, including 4 Grandmasters of the game, all at once. For more subscribe to our channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialDerren #DerrenBrown #DerrenBrownMiracle #DerrenBrownShowman [Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc)

Original transcript

[0:03] Graham Lee, Feday Master. John M. [0:07] Grandmaster. Julian Hodgson, [0:09] Grandmaster. Paul Littlewood, [0:11] International [0:12] Master. Desmond Tan, former England [0:15] junior. Jonathan Levit, [0:18] Grandmaster. Chris Ward, [0:20] Grandmaster. Nathan Alfred, Feday, [0:22] Master, and Robert Chan, president of [0:25] the Chess Society, King's College, [0:26] London. An average to good chess player [0:29] normally would think about two or three [0:31] moves ahead in a game. A chess [0:33] grandmaster can think anything up to 20 [0:35] moves ahead. In the next room, I've got [0:38] nine of the country's top chess players. [0:41] Some of them are rising stars on the [0:42] circuit. Uh there's some international [0:44] masters in there and not one but four [0:47] worldrated grand masters. I'm going to [0:50] play chess with them all [0:54] simultaneously using the skills that [0:57] I've learned and the techniques that [0:59] I've developed over the [1:02] years. I'm going to go in [1:04] there and absolutely lie to [1:08] them. And I'm hoping that the lies that [1:10] I tell will give me the psychological [1:13] edge uh to beat a few of them and [1:17] hopefully even a [1:20] grandmaster. And afterwards I'll tell [1:23] you how I did [1:25] it. Do bear in mind as you watch [1:28] this my chess is [1:32] sheet. Uh good [1:35] evening gentlemen. [1:38] Thank you so much for your time. So, I'm [1:41] going to attempt to play nine games of [1:43] chess with you [1:44] simultaneously. My chess is very good. [1:47] Obviously, nowhere near as good as your [1:48] standards, but I've spent a year [1:50] planning this. And during that time, [1:52] I've been reading transcripts and been [1:54] trying to familiarize myself with your [1:56] games. Okay. Um, going to give this [1:59] What's your name? Graeme. Gra. Graham, [2:02] I'm going to ask you just to hang on to [2:04] that for a second. If you got an inside [2:06] pocket, you could put that in. That [2:07] would be superb. [2:08] and hang on to that. I'll ask you for [2:10] that at the end. Terrific. Thank you. [2:12] I'm going to ask you all to take a seat [2:13] then. Now, your names are on the tables, [2:14] so please uh find your place. Off you [2:17] go. Thank you very much. Thank you. [2:21] [Music] [2:30] Thank you guys. Just one thing also I [2:31] should point out, there are no [2:33] computers. I'm not linked to any [2:34] supercomput for this. And John, there's [2:36] no earpieces yet. This This is all [2:39] genuinely above board. [2:41] Okay, Graeme, good luck. Thank you. [2:49] [Music] [2:57] [Music] [3:18] I lost. I was uh beaten by the better [3:21] man. I thought I was playing okay, but [3:22] he just came up with some really good [3:24] moves. I could have played on at the [3:26] end, but I mean I was just a whole rook [3:27] down, so I thought I'd put myself out of [3:29] my misery. Never good to lose. It's one [3:31] of the worst things in chess. The worst [3:33] thing. Got the opening a bit wrong. From [3:34] then on, it was all downhill. It's [3:37] always nice to win. First 15 moves or [3:39] so. I felt as though I was playing a a [3:41] leading grandmaster opponent. I was [3:44] quite surprised. Yeah, by his standard. [3:46] I was a bit lucky actually. Nen managed [3:48] to draw. It was close at the end, but I [3:50] just came through with a nice [3:51] combination. Thank you very much. Will [3:53] you count the number of your own pieces [3:54] that are left on the board before you [3:57] leave? It'll be important for later. I [3:59] drew my game. Um, I think I made two [4:02] small mistakes. I've been British [4:04] champion four times. So, I'm sort of [4:06] been one of England's top players for [4:07] about the last 15 years. What he's done [4:11] today is extremely impressive. [4:13] Unfortunately, I lost. You win some, you [4:16] lose some. I lost this one. [4:20] Thanks. Fantastic. Well done. I've [4:23] played a grandmaster and I think Darren [4:26] is on a par with them at least. [4:30] Thank you so much for your time and [4:32] expertise today. The results of that I [4:34] guess were I won at four tables, lost at [4:39] three, and then drew against the other [4:41] two. So that technically would be uh [4:43] would be a win for me against you as a [4:44] group. And that's beating two grand [4:46] masters. I'm I'm delighted. One last [4:50] thing uh before you go. Just wondering [4:53] if this number means anything to [5:02] you. 611 [5:05] 7106 [5:07] 1118105. No. Okay. Right. Well, I asked [5:09] you to count up the number of pieces [5:11] left of your own color on the board. So, [5:13] Graeme, at table number one, how many [5:15] pieces were left of your own color? I've [5:17] got seven pieces of my own color left. [5:19] Seven pieces of your own color. Um, [5:21] that's a mistake then. That should be a [5:23] seven. Okay. And next table. I've got [5:25] 11. 11. [5:27] One. One. Next table. Seven. Yep. Spot [5:30] on. Seven. 10 pieces. 10 pieces. [5:34] Six pieces. Six. [5:37] I've got 11 pieces. 11. Thank you. [5:41] That'll be eight pieces I have left. [5:43] Eight. Terrific. 10 pieces. You have 10 [5:46] pieces. [5:47] And finally, Robert, there I've got five [5:50] pieces left. You've got five pieces [5:51] left. Excellent. Thank you. So, that's [5:53] obviously just a memory feat. One of [5:55] several memory feats that I was [5:56] indulging in during that game. Um, I [5:58] gave you an envelope. Sorry. At the very [6:00] start. Could you I don't want to touch [6:01] it. Would you just come around here for [6:02] me and open it? Certainly. Just stand [6:04] there for me. That'd be [6:06] [Music] [6:11] great. Take out what's inside. Just give [6:13] me the envelope. I'll get rid of that. [6:14] Cheers. Thank you very much indeed. [6:17] Yeah, if you just [6:19] take that there. Uh what I hope will [6:22] keep you up all night is how I was [6:25] trying to influence those games [6:26] desperately as I was playing to end up [6:28] with precisely uh that result. Six [6:31] mistake uh [6:34] 11710618 [6:36] 105 pretty much spot on. This has been [6:38] in this pocket the whole time. You have [6:40] not touched it. I have not touched it. [6:41] No. Um, thank you so much uh for your [6:44] attention and your time and everything [6:46] today. I really appreciate it. Graeme, [6:47] you can keep that for me. Thanks so [6:48] much. Thank you very much indeed. Take [6:50] care. Thank you guys. Thank you all very [6:51] much. Thank you. [6:56] For him to pull out a whole series of [6:58] numbers based on nine separate games of [7:01] chess. That is astonishing. I can [7:03] guarantee that envelope stayed from the [7:05] moment he gave me at the start till [7:07] after the results were announced in this [7:08] pocket. There was no cheating. I've not [7:10] been asked to do anything by Darren. I [7:11] just turned up play chess, looked after [7:13] an envelope. This game finished because [7:15] it was a draw at some random point and [7:18] yet he's predicted the number of pieces [7:21] left in all the games. This is going to [7:23] keep me awake [7:25] tonight. Right. So, here's how you play [7:28] chess with a room of top chess players. [7:30] First of all, mentally divide them into [7:32] pairs. So, with eight players, that's [7:34] four pairs of two. And behind me is one [7:37] of those pairs. At table number one, we [7:40] had Graeme Lee and I had him mentally [7:42] paired off with Desmond Tan over at [7:44] table number five over the other side of [7:47] the room. Graeme was playing white and [7:50] Desmond was playing black. Graham's [7:53] opening move of the game was pawn to [7:58] E4. I remembered that move. I didn't [8:00] have to respond at that point. And when [8:02] I got round to table number five, [8:04] Desmond's table, I merely repeated that [8:05] move. pawn to [8:09] E4. Desmond's response was pawn to C5. I [8:14] remembered that response and when I get [8:17] back to Graeme on number one, I just [8:19] mirror Desmond's move, pawn to C5. I'm [8:23] not actually playing chess with either [8:25] of them. I'm just remembering the moves [8:27] and then mirroring them across on the [8:29] other person's table. In fact, they're [8:31] playing chess with each other. When [8:33] playing all nine, it's a lot more [8:35] complicated. So, I start at table one [8:38] and I remember the opening. I go to two [8:40] and remember that opening and the same [8:41] with three and four. Then at five, I [8:43] play the opening from table one and [8:45] remember the response. On six, I play [8:47] the opening from two and remember that [8:49] response. On seven, I play three's [8:52] opening and remember that. And on eight, [8:53] I do the same from table four. We'll [8:55] leave table 9 for the moment. Back to [8:57] one, and I play the response from five [8:58] and remember this new response. and so [9:00] on and so on around the board, [9:01] remembering the responses round one side [9:03] of the room and playing them on the [9:05] other side. That will give me an equal [9:07] number of wins and loses against the [9:09] group as half will win or lose against [9:12] the other half. So, how then do I come [9:14] out on top? Well, that's where table 9 [9:16] comes [9:18] in. In amongst everything else, I'm [9:20] playing one real game of chess at table [9:23] 9. Robert is the least strong player of [9:25] the group, and as long as I beat him, [9:27] the result will tip in my favor. [9:30] That's how I win. Fantastic. As for how [9:32] I predicted the number of pieces left on [9:34] each board, I genuinely can't remember. [9:37] Good night. I'm just I'm stunned. That's [9:41] definitely my right. That's my J. And I [9:44] never I've got no need for a leather [9:47] jacket. The you [9:49] want? I'm not afraid. I'll shoot you.