Questions tagged [blindfold-chess]

In blindfold chess, players play without sight of the board. They state their moves verbally while a referee makes them on a board, checking for correctness etc.

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Playing blind chess with aphantasia

Aphantasia is the suggested name for a condition where one does not possess a functioning mind's eye and cannot visualize imagery. Everyone's a bit different. I have a cubics cube on my desk, and ...
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Is there an Android app that can replace pieces by dots?

I would like to learn blindfolded chess. But after about 20 moves I cannot remember the position. My question: Do you know an app for Android that can replace the pieces by dots? For Desktop PC I ...
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How do you play blindfold?

I can do it okay using an empty board (like Luzhin). But I can’t picture 64 squares at once and their colors. Say black has N at b4. White can pin it to a black R on 8. Which file? What color square. ...
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How can one know where two diagonal lines meet?

Is there an algebraic way to know In which square two diagonals meet? For example a2 and f3 meet in d5 How can one find d5 without looking at the board? (Blindfolded chess exercise)
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How do I spend time on chess in boring meetings?

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 ...
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1 vote
1 answer
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On Lichess, how do you promote to a rook with algebraic notation?

I am a blind chess player on Lichess. I came across a position in which I wanted to promote to a rook. I learned that you can promote by writing like this: a8=n // promote the pawn at a8 to a knight. ...
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27 votes
1 answer
3k views

Is there a website that supports blind chess? [duplicate]

I am a blind chess player and desperately need a platform that I can play online. I've searched the web and the only thing that I could find is software that you have to download in order for this ...
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1 vote
0 answers
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Is the level of play impacted when a GM plays blindfolded? [duplicate]

Since my last question was closed before I got an answer I try again (hoping it won't get closed this time): When I look at a game of professional player on the internet, very often they don't even ...
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1 answer
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Does it change anything to play blindfold chess for a "good" chess player? [closed]

It's been a long time since I wanted to ask this question to a professional player but as I don't know any, I thought maybe this was the right place to ask: Does it change anything to play blindfold ...
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10 votes
2 answers
533 views

Can we quantify the handicap for playing blindfolded?

Roughly how much ELO does it cost a GM or top player to play blindfolded? For instance, if a 2600-rated GM were blindfolded, against what rating of opponent would they be expected to score roughly 50%?...
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3 votes
2 answers
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Are all grandmasters capable of playing blindfold?

There seems to be no shortage of stories about top rated players playing blindfold, either recreationally, or in tournaments. I'm curious whether all top players have this ability. Are there are GM-...
4 votes
2 answers
444 views

How to learn to play blind

Is there a standard way to learn to play blind? How should one go about becoming better at blind chess? Should it come "natural" to a player at some point? I am interested in knowing if it ...
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Any tips for improving at blindfold chess? [duplicate]

I've recently started training with some drills to improve at blindfold chess using the software chess eye. I also watched a video by IM Daniel Rensch where he went over certain blindfold drills used ...
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3 answers
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Blindfold chess games

Are blindfold chess games playable for chess world champions and grandmasters? Does the ability to do so show mastery for a player? Blindfold chess is, without looking at board, the player will just ...
12 votes
3 answers
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Do grandmasters practice blindfold chess or does it come naturally with practice?

Since grandmasters are good at calculation, do they practice blindfold for improving calculations, or does it come naturally over time by solving a lot of complex calculations?
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5 votes
2 answers
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Suggestions for blindfold exercises

I can now name the color of any square. Does anyone have suggestions for some other visualization exercises I can do to improve my blindfold chess?
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2 votes
2 answers
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Bela Berger and Blindfold Chess: What do players "see" on the board?

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 ...
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23 votes
2 answers
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Is blindfold chess bad for the health?

From Wikipedia, While blindfold chess has been recommended in moderation by many sources as a method of increasing one's playing strength, simultaneous blindfold exhibitions were officially ...
3 votes
2 answers
97 views

Blindfold Chess

I'd like to approach this topic as a way to improve my visualization skills. What are the best ways to improve this skill? I have a few blindfolded games at the club level that managed to make it ...
3 votes
3 answers
250 views

How to efficiently memorize games?

I want to memorize some games so that I can replay them in my mind without a board. The reason for this is that I think it could be helpful for improving my strength. I want to be able to fully replay ...
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1 answer
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Master blindfold chess in 6 months [duplicate]

I want to be able to play entire games blindfolded, atleast at the strength that I can win against beginner players. My current ELO is around 1800. I usually manage to play ok moves up to move 20, ...
2 votes
1 answer
165 views

Blindfold game records of chess and xiangqi

According to Wikipedia, Timur Gareyev played 48 opponents with a mask before his eyes and sitting on an exercise bike, resulting in 35 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses. On the other hand, the record for ...
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5 votes
1 answer
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Collusion in a simultaneous blindfold exhibition

When a blindfold expert plays several players simultaneously, there is a tacit assumption that the players will not collude. But suppose that the players are allowed to collude, and their goal is to ...
1 vote
1 answer
622 views

What is the best strategy for simultaneous blindfold chess?

Recently, Timur Gareyev displayed tremendous prowness by playing many boards blindfolded. What is the best strategy to visualize each and every board? I already know the basics, like splitting the ...
3 votes
1 answer
883 views

Best opening in blind simultaneous chess

I am interested in blind simultaneous chess, where one person plays (blind) vs multiple (non-blind) opponents. What would be the best openings for either side? I would assume anything slow would be ...
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5 answers
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Online blindfold chess

Does anyone know a site where I can type the moves with keyboard, hide the board and only see the score sheet? I want to play blindfolded. I used to play a lot but I want to play online.
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4 answers
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Blindfold chess tournaments

I was always interested to play blindfold chess not with a friend but versus a real opponent but I have heard only about such tournaments for elite players (like "Melody Amber"). Are there any ...
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3 answers
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How do people 'see' the position in blindfolded games?

How do most people play blindfolded chess? Is it akin to a live video feed in their mind where they can see all of the pieces, or do they just remember what moves have been made so far and go from ...
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2 answers
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Mental models in chess

In “Chess as a Behavioral Model for Cognitive Skill Research,” Mechner writes the following about mental representation of the game by blindfold chess masters: But the bombshell, which prompts the ...
8 votes
3 answers
3k views

Software for blind chess?

I recently found a neat feature of Apple's Chess program that allows the player to speak moves, and the computer to speak back moves which makes blind chess very simple and comfortable. There are a ...
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2 answers
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Is it common for super grandmasters to have the ability to play simultaneous blindfold chess?

Magnus Carlsen against 10 blindfolded. Timur Gareev plays 30 players blindfolded. I was wondering if these super grandmasters all can at least play 7 masters blindfolded and beat them.
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3 votes
2 answers
868 views

How much worse would I play if I played blindfolded?

Suppose I played a chess game with 60 minutes on both side. I play blindfolded while my opponent does not. Assuming that my rating is 2000 fide, what rating would my opponent have to be so that the ...
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3 votes
1 answer
352 views

Do people who handle blindfolded chess play at reasonably the same strength given enough time to think?

If time is not a problem, can someone who is playing blindfolded chess play with (at least) the same strength than normal chess? I have heard some people that mastered blindfolded can even play ...
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43 votes
15 answers
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Can playing blindfold chess be learned or is it a natural skill?

Any blindfold players here? Just wondering if blindfold chess is a skill that can be learned by amateurs like me or a natural skill by chess GM's, IM's, etc.
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3 answers
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Are blindfold players allowed to look at the list of moves?

I just read that Alexander Alekhine simultaneously played 26 blindfold games. Are blindfold players allowed to look at the list of moves? Can they re-create the position in their mind from the list ...
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21 votes
6 answers
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Is it beneficial to play blindfolded chess?

I've played only two blindfold games so far, but it was against someone who was maybe at a 1000 uscf rating strength, and hence was fairly easy to beat, and once against my friend, who's also rated ...
11 votes
7 answers
8k views

What are ways of practicing blindfold chess?

Is there a way to practice blindfold chess on the computer? For example, are there any programs online which give only a transcript of the moves played, and allow you to type in your next move, ...
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11 votes
3 answers
798 views

Can playing blindfold improve playing non-blindfold?

If I play blindfolded or don't look at the board and just visualize the board, pieces and position in my head, can this improve my regular style of play (physically looking at a board). Is there any ...
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10 votes
2 answers
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What are the rules of blindfold chess?

Forcing players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces by using blindfolds seems interesting, but I've been unable to find any official rules for playing blindfold chess. What are ...
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