Bela Berger and Blindfold Chess: What do players "see" on the board?

Question

I was looking at the interesting career of Bela Berger. On this oral history site, Bela Berger talks in an interview.

Here is a quote from the site:

"Berger, international chess master, speaks about learning to play chess as a child in Hungary; becoming a professional chess player; coming to Australia in 1957; becoming an international master in 1963; playing in Philippines, 1967; correspondence, blitz and blindfold chess; preparing for tournaments; personality of chess players; and the future of chess."

I was particularly interested in his comments about blindfold chess where he says he did not see the board and pieces as such, but experienced them as "pulsating energies".

I had previously heard comments from Ivanchuk along similar lines. Not very enlightening for me!

Berger comments that he could play as many as 10 games at a time blindfolded.

Could anyone who experience with, or knowledge of, such feats tell me what blindfold players "see" on the board?

Answer 1

That's pretty much what I "see". I don't have a mental picture of pieces, I have a "feel" for their mobility.

One of the interesting thing about blindfold players is that they each have their own way of seeing the board.

Answer 2

When i play blindfold, the board is dark for me. I see one part of the board with a kind of flashlight with a small spot. Then i move back and forth with the spot and the figures appear in my imagination. By moving the focus slowly, i understand which figures are attacking which.

I'm not very good at it. If I "see" that I can simply take an unprotected piece away, I go through the entire game again very quickly in my mind and note the positions of the pieces that have something to do with this attack to make sure that the position is correct.