Playing Blindfold Chess

With Your Mind Wide Open

Samantha212

| Mar 13, 2015 at 10:00 AM

| Posted in: Samantha212's Blog

| 8480 reads

| 10 comments

Through the ages we've been awed by the

brilliance of chess players who could play an
opponent, or several at at time, without seeing the
pieces.... "All In Their Mind's Eye"! Early legends
such as Philidor, Morphy, Najdorf, Alekhine,
Capablanca and
more
currentlyCarlsen,
Nakamura, Polgar, Anand and Lang to name a few,
have dazzled us with their brilliant focused
concentration and memory retention.The media
has even fueled our fascination by broadcasting a

blindfold-simul with Carlsen on the TV Investigative

Show 60 Minutes, which left the impression that
Carlsen's abilities were "Super Human" and
above the reach of what most of us could ever
achieve as chess players.

This article will show you that Blindfold Chess is a

skill that can be learned by amateurs. It's not only
an anomaly of skilled chess masters, but instead a
skill that requires training and developing of
your "Chess Memory Muscles". How you go
about doing that is the basis of this
article. Read on to learn the techniques that
will "Open Your Chess Board Visualization and
Memory".
You may ask why Blindfold Chess Training is
important? The
answer
is to
establish
strong
visualization skills and long-line calculating abilities to name a
few. Impressing your friends is an added bonus. Blindfoldchess
trainingwill"Open Your Mind's Eye"asyouexerciseyourbrainto"Really
Know"thechessboard,seethesquaresandunderstandtheirrelationshipstoone

another with piece movement. It can't help but improve your overall game.
Remember,thatadecentlevelofchessstrengthisrequiredtoplayboth
sightedgamesaswellasblindgames.Ifyouplaysightedchessbadly,your
toppriorityistoimproveyourplayingwithopening,endgameandtactical
study.Ontheotherhand,ifyou'vealreadyputinthestudytimeandhavea
relatively"decentgame",blindfoldchesstrainingwillhelpyourgameleap
frog.One player was quoted as saying, "From my personal experience
playingBlindfoldisabsolutelybeneficial.Itrieditprettyconsistentlyfor
severalweeksmanyyearsbackandsuddenly,despitebeingratedaround
1800, I was mowing through 2100 players at my local club at blitz.
Blindfoldcanonlyhelpyourvisualizationabilitysinceyounotonlyhaveto
visualizefuturemovesbutalsothecurrentposition."

Without any further ado, let's introduce you

to the techniques of Blindfold Training:
FIRST: Have a Clear Vision of the Board by
Knowing the Board by Heart
VISUALIZATIONOFTHECHESSBOARDis defined as Being
able to keep track of all the moves and details of
the board in your head, especially when they're
always changing. This requires you to strengthen
your Spatial
Thinking in
order
toMentally
See variations.
Practicing
Spatial
Awareness of the board is associated with more
creative move ideas and a deeper depth of
combinations, but it all starts with knowing the
board INSIDE & OUT. The next several exercises
will sharpen and hone your Board Vision.
1. Know the Coordinates of Each Square
(Bare with me if you already know this. I would be
remiss if I didn't review the basics. I can't assume
that all good chess players "Know" the square

names. Several in my chess club do not but they

know how the pieces move very well.)
Each square of the chessboard is identified by a
coordinate pair of a letter and a number. The
vertical columns of squares (called files) contribute
to the letters a to h. The horizontal rows of
squares (called ranks) are numbered 1 to 8, each
starting from White's side of the board. For
example, White's king starts on the e1 square;
Black's knight on b8 and so on. I've included a
blank board that you can transfer to the desktop of
your computer for practice.

2.Know

the
colors
of
each
square.
Next, you need to know which squares are light/white and which ones are
dark/black.There'saneasytricktorememberthesquarecolor.
a)Convertthefilelettersintonumbers.Forexample,a=1,b=2,c=3andsoon.The
c3squarewouldbetransposedto33,g7to77,d5to45.
b)Wheneverthe2numbersaretheSAMEeitherbothoddorbotheven,thenthe
squareisblack.Thismeansthatthef4square(64)isblack,theg5square(75)is
black,thec3square(33)isblack.IusethenemonicED,(OK,soit'smybrother's
name,butitdoesthetrick.) EqualisDark.
c)Wheneverthe2numbersareDIFFERENToneisevenandtheotherodd,then
thesquareiswhite.Thismeansthatthee4square(54)iswhite,theb3square(23)

iswhite,thef7square(67)iswhite.IusethenemonicOWL(Norelation,justa
pictureinmyhead.)OddisWhite/Light.
3. Know the Corresponding Square for Both Sides.
Thisone'salittletrickyWewanttoknowtheoppositecorrespondingsquareof
everysquarediagonallyacross.Forexampleb6=g3,a1=h8,f7=c2,b4=g5,e4=e5,
a4=h5.Testyourselfwithablankchessboard(WithNoCoordinatesthat'swhyI
included one for you to use). This exercise will start to expand your spatial
knowledgeoftheboard.
4. Know the Color of Every Diagonal
ThinkofasquareLet'ssayc2Wealreadyknowthatit'sawhitesquare.Then
mentallythinkofthesquaresinthatdiagonald3,e4,f5,g6,h7.Thengoingin
theoppositediagonalb3,a4. Thenchooseanotherrandomsquareandcontinue
withtheexercise.Identifythecoloroftheinitialsquarethenmentallyrecite(or
verballyreciteifyou'realone)thesquarenamesinbothdirectionsstartingfrom
thatsquare.AreyoufeelingyourMINDopeningyet?
5. Know the Intersecting Square of a Diagonal and a Rank
or File.
Forexample,what'stheintersectingsquarewiththed2diagonalandthe4thrank?
(f4)Theintersectingsquareoftheg7diagonalandthecfile?(c3).Thisismore
challengingbutbypracticingandgoingthroughthementalprocessofvisualizing
the diagonals and squares you will dramatically improve your spatial board
awareness. Practice this until it becomes easier and easier.
SECOND: Practice Mental Piece Movement
1. Knight Movement
a)Startingfromit'soriginalposition,mentallymovetheknighttotheoppositeside
oftheboard,forexamplec3,d5,f6,g8.
b)Thenreturnbacktotheoppositesideusingdifferentsquares e7,c6,d4,e2,
c1.
c)Next,placetheknightinarandomsquareandattemptoreachanothersquareof
yourchoosing.Let'splaceyourknightond5.Now,mentallymovetheknightto
thef7squareb6,c8,f7.Thisoneischallengingatfirstandyoumayneedtolook
attheboardinitiallytogetyourbarringsthat'sOKbutintimeyou'llbeableto
movetheknightfromonesquaretoanotherdesignatedsquareallinyourmind.
d)Practicethisexercisewithall4knights. Youcanworkwithotherchessclub
membersorfriendsandgobackandforthasyourmentallypracticeyourspatial
awareness

of

knight

moves.

2. Knight Movement with an Attacking Piece

on the Board
When you feel comfortable with the above
exercises, it's time to place other pieces on the
board.
a)PlacethequeeninthecenteroftheboardLet'sputherond5forthisexample.
b)ThenMentallyIdentifyallthesquaresshe'sguarding.Sheguardsthed
fileandthe5thrankaswellasthelightsquarediagonalsfromd5that'sc4,b3,a2,
e6, f7, g8. In the other direction it's e4, f3, g2, h1, c6, b7, a8.
b)Nowmovetheknighttotheoppositesideoftheboardwithoutsteppingona
squarethat'sattackedbythequeen.
c)Repeattheprocesswiththeother3knights.
d) Repeat the process with the queen in a different location.
Dauntingisn'tit??Ittakesawhiletogettothisstage.Continuepracticingthefirst
exercisesdaily. Inthecar,onabus,waitinginlineatthepostoffice,inthe
bathroom.Yougetthepoint,oryoucouldsetaside30minutesadaytopractice
thesetechniquesinaquietspacewithnodistractions.
3. Knight Movement with Two Attacking Pieces on the
board.
Onceandonlyonceyou'vepracticedandfeelcomfortablewiththeaboveexercises
isittimetoaddasecondattacker.Let'ssayarook.It'sOKtohaveablankboard
in front of you as you start practicing this exercise.
a)First,identifyallthesquaresthatareguardedbybothpieces.

b) Then mentally move the knight through the board without stepping on an
attackedsquaretotheoppositesideoftheboard.
c)Repeatwiththeotherthreeknights.
d)Thenchangethepositionofthepiecesandrepeattheprocess.
e)Youcandothisexercisewithanotherplayeroracoach.Whenyou'vemadea
mentalpictureofthemove,sayitoutloud.Theotherpersonwillsay,"OKorTry
Again"untilyou'vesuccessfullynavigatedtheknighttotheoppositesideofthe
boardortoadesignatedsquareofyourchoosing.
THIRD:PracticePositional Reconstruction
Thisexercisewilltrainyourmemorytoseepiecesontheboardandrecreatetheir
positionafterwards.Hanginthere.We'reinthehomestretch. Thisisacrucial
skilltodevelopbeforeplayingblindfoldchess.
Tomakeiteasiertomemorizethepiece'sposition,breakuptheboardintofour
quadrantsor6mainsectionsasshownintheimagesbelow. Thenvisualizethe
firstquadrant,thenthenextandthenextuntilyoucanseetheentireboard.

a)Now,lookatapostionofpiecesontheboardforuptooneminute.Startwitha
familiar

position

from

favorite

opening.
b)Turnawayandwaitfor30secondstopass.
c) Then reconstruct the position on a board from memory.
d) Continue to do this with gradually more and more complex and random
positionsuntilit'seasyforyouto"HoldThePiece'sPositionsinYourMind'sEye"
thenrecreatethemonaboard.
FORTH: Game Visualization
1. Start With a Game That's Familiar to You

a)Weallhavegamesandopeningswe'veplayedmanytimeswhenwestarted
playingchess.Gamesthatareeasierforustovisualizeinourmind.Chooseone
that'sfamiliartoyou.
b)Placeanemptyboardinfrontofyouandbegintoseethemoves:1.e4e52.Nf3
Nc63.Bc4Bc54.c3Nf65.d4exd46.cxd4Bb4+.Doyouseeit?Canyouplaceall
thepiecesontheboard?
c)Keeprepeatingthefirst5movesuntilyoureallyseethepiecesbeforemoving
to

the

next

moves.
d)Continuevisualizingthemovesuntilyoucanmentallyplacethepiecesonthe
board20movesdeep.
e)Thisisn'tacontest.Ifyoucan'tholdthepiecesinyourmind,taketheboardout
andmovethepieces. Then,afteryou'veseenthemoves,removethepiecesand
begin again. It's persistent practice that will graduallyOpen
YourMind's Eye
to
Seeing
the
Board
Blindfold.
2. Visualize Games Less Familiar to You
a) Choose a game from a chess book or magazine. Something you're not as
familiarwith.
b)Whilesittinginfrontofanemptyboardbegintovisualizethemoves.
c)Liketheaboveexercise,keeprepeatingthefirst5movesuntilyoucanplaceall
thepiecesontheboard.
d)Thenproceedtothenext5moves.Repeatthemoveorderuntilyoucan"See"
thepiecesontheboard.
e)Workyourwaythroughthegameuntilyoucanholdupto20movesdeepin
yourmind,knowingspatiallywhereallthepiecesareontheboard.
3. Play a Mental Chess Game with Another Opponent
a)Atfirst,it'sbesttostartwithablankboardinfrontofyou.
b)Usescoresheetstorecordyourgames.
c)Continueplayinguntilthere'sacheckmateoroneorbothplayerscan'tkeepthe
piecepositionsclearintheirmind'seye.That'swhentheboardgetsfuzzy.
d)Gooverthegamewiththepiecesontheboardandanalyzeyourmoves.
e)Playanothermentalgame.
5. Congratulations!! If you've successfully accomplished
all the above exercises you're now ready to play Blindfold
Chess
Here's what one coach had to say about blindfold chess, "Quite a few of my
students have learned to play blindfold chess merely by practicing it. I'm not

sayingit'seasy,buteverysingleplayerI'veknownwhomadeaseriouseffortto
learntoplayblindfoldchesshassucceeded."
You can do it! Just don't expect to learn it overnight. It's like any
new skill, it takes practice to master. Patience and persistent
practice is all you need - one step at a time. 30 minutes a day will
do it but JUST DO IT! In time you'll gradually be able to "see"
deeper and deeper without the board. Then in a month's time
you'll amaze yourself at your new found ability and how far you've
come.
Well, I've given you a plan of strategy, a treasure map if you
like, to develop your spatial awareness and mental visualization.
Start with the first exercise and practice it until it's easier and
easier. Don't even think of moving to the next exercise
until you can "easily" accomplish the one before it. They
all build upon one another. Patiently work on one exercise at a
time. Become good at it, then move onto the next. Easy Peasy.

FIFTH:

Resources

Before concluding this article I want to provide you

with websites and access to free software programs that will
reinforce and help you with above lessons.

1.IMDanielRenschfromchess.comhascreatedtwowonderful
videos that were instrumental in filling in the gaps to my
researchonplayingblindfoldchess. Inhisusualenthusiastic

manner he explains the steps of achieving "Full Board

Awareness"inpart1andBoardNirvanainpart2.
2.
Check
out http://www.blindfoldchesstrainer.com for board
awareness exercises. They also let you play
blindfolded.
3. Chess.com also has an option for hiding your
pieces and allowing you to play blindfold with an
online opponent. You can play against a friend or
another opponent whos unaware that you cant
see the pieces.
4. Play blindfold chess against the computer on
chess.com. Turn the settings to their lowest and
choose the Blindfold Option. The pieces will
disappear from the board. The computers moves
will be recorded in notation and you'll record your
moves in the same way.
5. An
Amazing
Online
tool
is Chess
Visualization Training, created by Jan Matthies
and Alexander Fleischer. You can access their
website by clicking on Chess Eye.
6.ForaReally Amazing CVT TooldownloadtheCVTontoyourhard
drive(IhaveaMacandhadnoproblemdownloadingitImsureyoullbeableto
accessitwithaPC.) Theygothroughtheaboveexercisesinawaythatseasyand
fun.Youllbegintoseeprogressfastbyusingtheirfeaturesdaily. Ifyoureas
impressedasIwasthensendtheseguysathankyouemailfortheircontributionto
thechesscommunityandforofferingitFor Free. Inaworldofprofitsand
margins,itsablessingtohavesuchgenerousindividualsasthesetwowhogain
nothingmorethanknowingyoubenefitedfromtheirwork. An Attitude of
Gratitude. IcameacrosstheirprograminarandomblogIfound.Here'swhat
oneofthecreatorssaid,"ImreleasingtheChessTrainer1.6.4(Accessiblehere).
Ithasanewconceptfortrainingblindfoldthatdividestheboardintosectors.The

basicideaisthattheboardiseasiertorememberandvisualizeifdividedintosmall
chunks." And now you have access to it too.
7.If youreinterested in delving into the historic and

psychological aspects of blindfold chess you should read

the
book: Blindfold
Chess
History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records, and
Important Games by Eliot Hearst and John Knott - Winner of the
Fred Cramer Award for the Best Chess Book of 2009.

Check out their wonderful website where you can

access
many
articles
on
the
subject
at http://www.blindfoldchess.net/
Commit to doing these exercises a little every day. They
will slowly push the ceiling of your Mind's Eye Out a move
or 2 at a time. Take baby steps. The brain needs time to adjust.
Then after 6 months time look at your ceiling and compare it to
where you started. I guarantee you'll notice it has moved a long
way and subsequently you'll be playing better chess and making
better decisions at the board.
I have a Priest friend, Father Tom who's friendly with Phil Jackson
the coach of the Colorado Broncos during the years of Michael
Jordon and Scotty Pippen. "The Golden Years" I like to refer to
them as. One night he attended a banquet dinner with Jackson
when he asked him what he attributed his team's tremendous
success to. Phil put a hand on Father's shoulder, looked him in
the eye and said, "You're not going to believe me Tom when I tell
you this secret ...... I have them Mentally Visualize themselves
playing the game. Every practice includes 30 minutes of mentally
vizualizing successful layups, successful pass shots and swishing
foul shots. Then we conclude the session by hearing in our mind
the crowd cheering us after winning the game." I think that story
applies here too.

I hope this article has shed some light on Playing Blindfold

Chess with Your Mind Wide Open. Look for the next in the

series. If you like this article feel free to "Friend Me" on chess.com
to be sent updates and future articles. Until then...Cheers.