Playing Blindfold Chess With Your Mind Wide Open
Playing Blindfold Chess With Your Mind Wide Open
Playing Blindfold Chess With Your Mind Wide Open
Samantha212
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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."
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.
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
1.IMDanielRenschfromchess.comhascreatedtwowonderful
videos that were instrumental in filling in the gaps to my
researchonplayingblindfoldchess. Inhisusualenthusiastic
basicideaisthattheboardiseasiertorememberandvisualizeifdividedintosmall
chunks." And now you have access to it too.
7.If youreinterested in delving into the historic and
series. If you like this article feel free to "Friend Me" on chess.com
to be sent updates and future articles. Until then...Cheers.