GOLDEN, Colo. — Two chess masters from Golden are preparing to travel thousands of miles to represent the United States in an international competition for players with disabilities in Kazakhstan.
Brothers Griffin McConnell, 21, and Sullivan McConnell, 18, were selected for Team USA alongside three other players from around the country. Both are national masters, making them among the highest-rated chess players with disabilities in the country.
“Chess is the only sport that I know of that there's only one requirement,” Sullivan said. “You just have to be able to think.”
The tournament is only the second of its kind and is a necessary step toward chess becoming an Olympic sport. It will bring together competitors with a range of disabilities.
“We're going to be playing against people who are possibly blind,'' Sullivan said. “We'll be playing against people who can't move their hands, can't move their feet, and that doesn't stop them from playing.”
Though the championship is being held half a world away, daily training happens in Golden.
“We played each other more than any other person,” Griffin said. “We are both very competitive. We're always trying to figure out who's the better brother.”
For Sullivan, this trip will be a first.
“It's been Sullivan's dream. He's never been out of the United States. We had to get a passport, like, within two weeks,” their father Kevin McConnell said.
Kevin, executive director of PALS Chess Academy, is proud to see his sons get the chance to compete on an international stage.
“I'm just really proud that they get a chance to represent their country, No. 1. And they're a super strong team,” he said. “It would just be amazing for chess.”
Griffin and Sullivan will play on Boards Two and Four for Team USA. For Griffin, that means not just focusing on his own matches, but helping his brother prepare for opponents.
“We are brothers. Even though I'm lower rated than him, I can still help Sullivan with certain opponents,” Griffin said. “It's a guessing game, but if I do it correctly, which I have done before, that has helped Sullivan win games.”
The brothers see the sport as a uniquely inclusive competition.
“It is the most accessible game in the world, no matter what you struggle with,” Sullivan said.
The trip isn’t just about games and rankings.
“Doing it with one of my other people, my brother, helping me and coming with me… It's going to be a memory that I will always have,” Sullivan said.
Kevin said he hopes his sons’ role in the tournament helps advance chess in the global sports arena.
“It would be amazing if my kids were at the forefront of the group effort to make that happen,” he said.
The McConnell brothers depart for Kazakhstan later this month, bringing with them not only their boards and pieces, but also a chance to show that chess can thrive on the world stage — and perhaps, one day, at the Olympics.
