Larry Christiansen once beat Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s entire chess club during a series of back-to-back games, all the while wearing a blindfold.
So when the chess grandmaster and Cambridge resident went up against 25 strangers simultaneously on Tuesday during a tournament on the concourse of South Station, knocking out his opponents came easily for the three-time American chess champion.
“I might lose one out of a couple hundred,” said Christiansen, barely batting an eyelash after finishing off the onslaught of opponents. “But I have done this a million times.”
Christiansen has been challenging people to the merry-go-round-style games of chess at South Station for more than a year. The monthly event is organized by Biederman Redevelopment Ventures and the Boylston Chess Club, he said.
Christiansen first became a grandmaster in 1977. He has won United States championship titles in 1980, 1983, and 2002.
As he played at South Station Tuesday, Christiansen maneuvered between tables in a dizzying fashion, effortlessly sliding chess pieces into position and eliminating players one by one.
Each move took him less than a few seconds before he would shuffle his feet across the floor and shift to the next board.
“I can see at a glance what’s going on,” he said. “Some of the games are pretty complicated — it’s like flipping a coin. Some of them I play a little quickly, and think, ‘Oops, I better concentrate on that during the next go around.’ ”
Christiansen played more than 50 games over the two-hour span, winning every one.
Even still, participants like Gabriel Daniels of Salem gave it their all.
“I don’t expect to win at all, but that’s OK. He is a grandmaster, he could come close to beating us all blindfolded,” said Daniels, just before he was wiped from the competition by one swift move of Christiansen’s hand. “He’s a beast.”
Lulzim Isufi stopped by South Station to play Christiansen and witness his moves first hand.
“For us, you think for five minutes. But when he comes here, he just moves the pieces. It’s very impressive,” he said.
Although playing simultaneous games comes easy for Christiansen, he’s always impressed with the players who turn out to try and take him down.
Christiansen will be back at South Station in June for another round of chess.
Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear.