How do I spend time on chess in boring meetings?

Question

I will be sitting in two boring meetings and each one is several hours long. I do not need to participate in any way, nor is the information from the meeting useful to me. However, my presence is expected and I am not supposed to look at my books, phone, notebook, etc; but a quick glance at a piece of paper may be tolerable. Chess is my hobby and I am seeking advice on spending time mentally on chess during such meetings. By the way, right now I am unable to play blindfold chess.

Any ideas on how can I enjoy chess in my mind in such situations?

Answer 1

One posibility is to concentrate in problems. Write on paper the posicion description, using a notation like the following:

This fen: 
r1bqk2r/pppp2pp/2n1pn2/5p2/2PP4/5NP1/PP1NPPBP/R2QK2R b KQkq - 0 7 

Corresponds to: 
W-Ke1,Qd1,Ra1,Rh1,Bg2,Nd2,Nf3,Pa2,b2,c4,d4,e2,f2,g3,h2
B-Ke8,Qd8,Ra8,Rh8,Bc8,Nc6,Nf6,Pa7,b7,c7,d7,e6,f5,g7,h7
Black to move.

Annotate your answer as a continuous line of moves without the move numbers to simulate note taking.

Answer 2

Uh oh. You are asking for it. I strongly recommend a different approach.

Y'know, here in Germany we have an "Unemployment insurance" and, since it is a (state) insurance, it constantly tries to screw their customers over, by simulating that their pathetic efforts will bring them into employment again (and when the customers refuse, they have a legal reason to deny them the money). [Disclaimer: Attitude may have changed in the constant boom, and may again while Covid. My experiences are ages old.] In particularly, e.g. they began the day with a list of math problems of the calibre 15-9=?. Given that I'm a supergenius :-), I could have taken offence, thereby giving them what they wanted. I didn't. Challenge accepted. I tried extremely hard (this was a recurring task each day) to bring my solving time under one minute until I succeeded. I became sort of the hero of my fellow victims since I never lost my jolly composure, regardless what they came up with.

Do the same. Your boring meeting is boring because you define it as boring. With the right attitude, you might even find the stuff interesting. And a little brownnosing never hurts anyway...