Timur Gareyev, the 'Blindfold King', plans to play nearly 50 blindfolded games at once. The passage covers his background, the long history of blindfold chess, and why juggling many boards in your head is hard. UCLA's memory tests found nothing special, but brain scans suggest unusually strong links in the networks that direct attention and process visual information.
Paragraph matching (27-32) uses E twice. TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (33-36) covers A to E. The summary (37-40) is F and G.
Matching information (paragraphs A-H)
Questions 27-32
How to attack this block: E answers two items: what playing blind involves (holding, updating and storing each board) and why the end of a game is hard (exhaustion makes recall patchy). Thirteenth-century Florence is in D. The researchers' interest is in B, 'nothing other than chess' is in F, and his priorities are in his closing words in H.
Question 27
Answer: DParagraph D, second and third sentences
Which paragraph mentions blindfold chess from long ago?
But displays of the feat go back centuries. The first recorded game in Europe was played in 13th-century Florence.
Question says → Passage says
early examples of blindfold chessdisplays of the feat go back centuries / The first recorded game in Europe
Why: 'Go back centuries', a 13th-century game in Florence and Najdorf's 1947 record are all historical examples. 'Early' points to the oldest one.
The trap: C is about Gareyev's early life (learning at six, first tournament at eight). That's early for him, not early in the history of blindfold chess.
Question 28
Answer: EParagraph E, middle
Which paragraph outlines what playing blindfold chess requires?
Not only must the positions of each piece on every board be memorised, they must be recalled faithfully when needed, updated with each player's moves, and then reliably stored again
Question says → Passage says
what blindfold chess involvesthe positions of each piece… be memorised… recalled… updated… stored again
Why: E breaks the task into steps: memorise every position, recall it, update it after each move, store it again, then move to the next board. That's an outline of what it involves.
The trap: D says blindfold chess 'seems to call for superhuman skill', which sounds like a description, but it only gives an impression. E explains the actual steps.
Question 29
Answer: FParagraph F, middle
Which paragraph claims Gareyev is only exceptional at chess?
He was not exceptional on any of these standard tests… We didn't find anything other than playing chess that he seems to be supremely gifted at.
Question says → Passage says
Gareyev's skill is limited to chessanything other than playing chess that he seems to be supremely gifted at
Why: Rissman says the tests found nothing he's supremely gifted at except chess. That's a claim that his skill is limited to chess.
The trap: A shows other sides of him (bright clothes, unusual hairstyles, BASE jumping), but it describes his tastes, not what he is or isn't gifted at.
Question 30
Answer: BParagraph B, first two sentences
Which paragraph explains why scientists are interested in Gareyev?
In the hope of understanding how he and others like him can perform such mental feats, researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) called him in for tests.
Question says → Passage says
of interest to scientistshas drawn interest from beyond the chess-playing community / researchers
whyIn the hope of understanding how
Why: B gives the reason: the UCLA researchers wanted to understand how he and players like him can perform such mental feats. 'In the hope of understanding' is the 'why'.
The trap: F and G describe the scientists' tests and results. That's what they found, not why they were interested in the first place.
Question 31
Answer: HParagraph H, second half
Which paragraph sets out what matters most to Gareyev?
I don't worry too much about the winning percentage… The most important part of blindfold chess for me is that I have found the one thing that I can fully dedicate myself to.
Question says → Passage says
Gareyev's prioritiesThe most important part of blindfold chess for me / I don't worry too much about the winning percentage
Why: He says what doesn't matter to him (the winning percentage) and what matters most (having one thing he can fully dedicate himself to). Ranking what matters is an outline of his priorities.
The trap: H also says he needs to win 80% to claim the record. That's the rule of the attempt, not his priority, and he says straight after that the percentage doesn't worry him.
Question 32
Answer: EParagraph E, second half
Which paragraph gives a reason why the end of a game can be hard?
But the ends of games are taxing too, as exhaustion sets in. When Gareyev is tired, his recall can get patchy.
Question says → Passage says
the last part of a gamethe ends of games
may be difficultare taxing
a reason whyas exhaustion sets in
Why: 'Taxing' means hard work, and 'as exhaustion sets in' gives the reason: by the end he's tired, so his memory of the boards gets patchy. That's a reason why the last part of a game is difficult.
The trap: The sentence before gives a reason too, but for the first moves ('fairly uninteresting', so hard to remember). Match the 'ends of games'. E also answers question 28, and that's fine: letters can repeat.
TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN
Questions 33-36
How to attack this block: Only Gareyev will be blindfolded, not his opponents (FALSE). E says many accomplished players can play blind (TRUE). BASE jumping is his hobby, but no competition wins are mentioned, and nothing says UCLA was first.
Question 33
Answer: FALSEParagraph A, third sentence
Will everyone in the coming games be blindfolded?
While his challengers will play the games as normal, Gareyev himself will be blindfolded.
Question says → Passage says
all the participantshis challengers… Gareyev himself
will be blindfoldedwill play the games as normal
Why: Only Gareyev will wear a blindfold, and his challengers play 'as normal'. So not all participants will be blindfolded. FALSE.
The trap: 'Nearly 50 opponents at once' plus 'blindfold' in the title can make you picture everyone blindfolded. The 'While…' sentence separates them.
Question 34
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph A, sixth sentence
Has Gareyev won BASE jumping competitions?
he gets his kicks from the adventure sport of BASE jumping
Question says → Passage says
BASE jumpingthe adventure sport of BASE jumping
Why: You learn that he enjoys BASE jumping, but nothing about entering or winning competitions in it. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: The next sentences are full of winning (33 games, 'He won 29 and lost none'), and they're easy to attach to BASE jumping. Those wins are chess. FALSE would need the passage to say he hasn't won at BASE jumping, and it says nothing either way.
Question 35
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph B, second and third sentences
Was UCLA the first university to research blindfold chess players?
researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) called him in for tests. They now have their first results.
Question says → Passage says
research into blindfold chess playershow he and others like him can perform such mental feats
Why: UCLA tested him, but the passage never says whether any other university had done this kind of research before. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'Their first results' contains 'first', but it means UCLA's first findings, not that UCLA was the first university to do this research. No other research is mentioned at all.
Question 36
Answer: TRUEParagraph E, first sentence
Are good chess players likely to be able to play blindfold?
Accomplished players can develop the skill of playing blind even without realising it.
Question says → Passage says
Good chess playersAccomplished players / regular players
likely to be able to play blindfold chesscan develop the skill of playing blind / A lot of players are capable of doing what I'm doing
Why: 'Accomplished' = 'good', and they develop the blind skill naturally just by playing. Gareyev agrees: 'a lot of players' could do what he does. TRUE.
The trap: 'The real mental challenge comes from playing multiple games at once' can make you doubt it. That's about many boards at once, and the statement only says playing blindfold.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 37-40
How to attack this block: F starts with standard memory tests, including repeating a string of numbers forwards and backwards. The scans showed more communication within the frontoparietal control network, and G adds unusual strength in the areas handling visual input.
Question 37
Answer: memoryParagraph F, first two sentences
What did the researchers test first?
Scientists first had Gareyev perform some standard memory tests. These assessed his ability to hold numbers, pictures and words in mind.
Question says → Passage says
The researchers started by testing Gareyev'sScientists first had Gareyev perform some standard… tests
Why: 'Started by' = 'first', and the tests were memory tests. 'Testing Gareyev's ___' needs a noun for an ability, and 'memory' is it.
The trap: 'Ability' is in the next sentence, but 'testing his ability' is too vague: the summary wants which ability.
Question 38
Answer: numbersParagraph F, third sentence
What did he have to repeat forwards and backwards?
One classic test measures how many numbers a person can repeat, both forwards and backwards, soon after hearing them.
Question says → Passage says
recall a string ofhow many… a person can repeat
in order and also in reverse orderboth forwards and backwards
Why: 'In order' = 'forwards', and 'in reverse order' = 'backwards'. What's repeated is numbers, plural after 'a string of'.
The trap: 'Pictures' and 'words' are in the sentence before, but the forwards-and-backwards test is about numbers only.
Question 39
Answer: communicationParagraph F, second half
What did the scans show an unusual amount of in the attention-directing areas?
the scans found much greater than average communication between parts of Gareyev's brain… It helps you to allocate attention
Question says → Passage says
scans showed an unusual amount ofthe scans found much greater than average
the areas of the brain that are concerned with directing attentionwhat is called the frontoparietal control network / It helps you to allocate attention
Why: 'Much greater than average' becomes 'an unusual amount of', and what there was more of is communication. Rissman says this network 'helps you to allocate attention', which is the summary's 'directing attention'.
The trap: Paragraph G says his visual network is 'more highly connected', which tempts people to write 'connection'. That's a different finding. For the attention network, the passage's word is 'communication'.
Question 40
Answer: visualParagraph G, third sentence
What kind of input do the unusually strong parts of his brain deal with?
Initial results suggest that the areas of his brain that process visual images… may have stronger links to other brain regions, and so be more powerful than normal.
Question says → Passage says
raised the possibility ofInitial results suggest… may have
unusual strengthmore powerful than normal
the parts of his brain that deal withthe areas of his brain that process
Why: 'Suggest… may' is only a possibility, and 'more powerful than normal' is unusual strength. The areas process 'visual images', so the input is visual. The gap sits before a noun, so it needs an adjective.
The trap: 'Images' is right there, but 'images input' doesn't work, and the gap needs the describing word. 'Chess boards' is only an example of what those areas process.
E. The ends of games are taxing because exhaustion sets in and his recall gets patchy. It's near the end of the paragraph that also answers question 28.
Write 'communication'. The scans found much greater communication between the parts of the control network.
Words from this passage worth keeping
rarefied(A)
known to or reached by only a small, special group
prowess(B)
great skill
uninitiated(D)
people without special knowledge of something
simultaneous(D)
happening at the same time
faithfully(E)
accurately, without changes
taxing(E)
demanding a lot of mental or physical effort
tentative(F)
not yet certain or final
dedicate(H)
give all your time and energy to something
Sit this test on Langujet, then come back
The full Cambridge 17 Test 4 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 17, Test 4, Reading Passage 3. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
