CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A two-day online chess tournament, a first-of-its-kind, has Cook County Jail detainees playing inmates in prisons in six other countries.
"It is something that has never happened anywhere in the world before. To have correctional facilities all around the world playing at once," said Sheriff Tom Dart.
The tournament is taking place in Division 11 at the jail, and in prisons in Russia, Belarus, Italy, England, Brazil and Armenia. The game boards are projected on screens and the inmates are playing on laptops.
There were welcoming remarks from Russian Chess Grand Master Anatoly Karpov via video conference.
Dart said "that would be like Michael Jordan coming and kicking off a basketball tournament.
He said he surprised himself and now said the game, "I look at chess as a way of life...It gives peace of mind. It makes me think. I like the way it makes me think. Every moves got to count."
The Sheriff said inmates leave with new critical thinking skills that can help them avoid a return.
A study in Brazil found that inmates who play chess are less likely to be locked up again.