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Is Playing Blindfold Chess Worth It?

<Comment deleted by user>

Is not the former world recordist of simultaneous blindfold chess something like 2000 rating otb?

Not that Guinessbook has any credibility...

Is not the former world recordist of simultaneous blindfold chess something like 2000 rating otb? Not that Guinessbook has any credibility...

@BTRex2010 said in #8:

i agree that blindfold is a great tool for improvement and helps with calculating moves ahead, however i disagree that lower rated players should be encouraged to perform blindfold games without assistance by themselves. having players at such skill level play a whole game of chess blindfolded is too much to ask for- a better alternative would be solving puzzles without moving pieces on the board etc. simply booting up a blindfold chess game for lower rated players will undoubtedly lead them to guessing most of their moves, not knowing where pieces are, etc making this practice almost useless.

I started doing puzzles blindfolded, listening to the moves from the opening through 5 to 10 moves, and then the app asked me to say the best move and then check if it was correct. After that, I tried playing against the computer on Lichess, listening to the moves and typing my responses. I don’t need to guess, because we can press the up arrow key to hear the first move and the right arrow to go through each move until the last one until you have all the pieces connected. This way, we never forget the position.
With practice over time, you won’t need to go back through the moves anymore, because you will be able to remember them all, even the next day, without checking. Blindfold chess is so intense that when you start to feel the "force of the pieces" you become better at remembering the games and even notice more paterns.

@BTRex2010 said in #8: > i agree that blindfold is a great tool for improvement and helps with calculating moves ahead, however i disagree that lower rated players should be encouraged to perform blindfold games without assistance by themselves. having players at such skill level play a whole game of chess blindfolded is too much to ask for- a better alternative would be solving puzzles without moving pieces on the board etc. simply booting up a blindfold chess game for lower rated players will undoubtedly lead them to guessing most of their moves, not knowing where pieces are, etc making this practice almost useless. I started doing puzzles blindfolded, listening to the moves from the opening through 5 to 10 moves, and then the app asked me to say the best move and then check if it was correct. After that, I tried playing against the computer on Lichess, listening to the moves and typing my responses. I don’t need to guess, because we can press the up arrow key to hear the first move and the right arrow to go through each move until the last one until you have all the pieces connected. This way, we never forget the position. With practice over time, you won’t need to go back through the moves anymore, because you will be able to remember them all, even the next day, without checking. Blindfold chess is so intense that when you start to feel the "force of the pieces" you become better at remembering the games and even notice more paterns.

@BTRex2010 said in #20:

i agree that this type of training you suggested can help lower rated players; however when i talk about “blindfold chess” im referring more to simply booting up a lichess game on blindfold setting.

i acknowledge maybe i should’ve went deeper into specific exercises like solving puzzles without the board, or exercises like following games without a board, but as far as the blog went i was only trying to cover playing games blindfolded, not exercises that incorporate blindfold chess.

i also agree that the lack of good board vision impacts lower rated players a lot during games, however the tactics they have to find are much less difficult than higher level players. training board vision by simply grinding puzzles / calculation exercises feels much more beneficial than doing blindfold exercises. however, if a player gets bored of puzzles etc, blindfold exercises like you mentioned are a great thing to test.

i appreciate your output, and sorry if the blog was a bit vague.

I think we could better define the blindfold online mode compared to traditional blindfold chess, because in blindfold chess you can't see the notation and rely only on listening, while in the online blindfold mode, you can still see the notation and/or the board.

@BTRex2010 said in #20: > i agree that this type of training you suggested can help lower rated players; however when i talk about “blindfold chess” im referring more to simply booting up a lichess game on blindfold setting. > > i acknowledge maybe i should’ve went deeper into specific exercises like solving puzzles without the board, or exercises like following games without a board, but as far as the blog went i was only trying to cover playing games blindfolded, not exercises that incorporate blindfold chess. > > i also agree that the lack of good board vision impacts lower rated players a lot during games, however the tactics they have to find are much less difficult than higher level players. training board vision by simply grinding puzzles / calculation exercises feels much more beneficial than doing blindfold exercises. however, if a player gets bored of puzzles etc, blindfold exercises like you mentioned are a great thing to test. > > i appreciate your output, and sorry if the blog was a bit vague. I think we could better define the blindfold online mode compared to traditional blindfold chess, because in blindfold chess you can't see the notation and rely only on listening, while in the online blindfold mode, you can still see the notation and/or the board.

@BTRex2010 said in #18:

i think your case is very different from a lot of intermediate improvers- you already kind of hit a stop in chess improvement due to anxiety, and from the looks of it blindfold chess is more of a hobby instead of a training tool for you. having blindfold chess as a hobby wont lead to as much frustration as you outlined ("even when i blunder i laugh at myself"), but for an intermediate improver trying blindfold chess, it can be very frustrating.

the point of my blog here was to try and outline how blindfold chess can be used as a training tool, and in your case i think its much more of a hobby instead of a training tool.

what you are doing is great in your perspective, as you find more value playing blindfold chess, however for the most of serious intermediate improvers, i would say its the complete opposite. an average intermediate improver will have an extremely hard time starting off playing blindfolded, and unless they are completely burnt out from regular chess (like you). because of this, i would see no point in continuing to play blindfold at this level.

if you stopped taking chess seriously, and you have a lot of time on your hands, which probably is the case for you, then of course you can try and experiment with playing blindfolded. but for someone who only recently started and is looking to get to a high level, blindfold chess definitely isn't an efficient way of improvement.

Yeah, you’re right. I mostly play chess as a hobby now, since I don’t have as much time and I’m not taking it as seriously as before. Still, I’ve been trying to play one blindfold game a day on this account, and my rating’s actually been going up. That kind of progress keeps me motivated.

I see chess a bit like going to the gym. At the gym, you train each muscle separately and in chess puzzles can do that too: tactics, endgames, strategy. But chess also needs things like logic, memory, visualization, and pattern recognition. So I treat blindfold chess like training a weak muscle. Even if it’s not the most efficient way to improve, it still helps me build skills and keeps the game fun.

@BTRex2010 said in #18: > i think your case is very different from a lot of intermediate improvers- you already kind of hit a stop in chess improvement due to anxiety, and from the looks of it blindfold chess is more of a hobby instead of a training tool for you. having blindfold chess as a hobby wont lead to as much frustration as you outlined ("even when i blunder i laugh at myself"), but for an intermediate improver trying blindfold chess, it can be very frustrating. > > the point of my blog here was to try and outline how blindfold chess can be used as a training tool, and in your case i think its much more of a hobby instead of a training tool. > > what you are doing is great in your perspective, as you find more value playing blindfold chess, however for the most of serious intermediate improvers, i would say its the complete opposite. an average intermediate improver will have an extremely hard time starting off playing blindfolded, and unless they are completely burnt out from regular chess (like you). because of this, i would see no point in continuing to play blindfold at this level. > > if you stopped taking chess seriously, and you have a lot of time on your hands, which probably is the case for you, then of course you can try and experiment with playing blindfolded. but for someone who only recently started and is looking to get to a high level, blindfold chess definitely isn't an efficient way of improvement. Yeah, you’re right. I mostly play chess as a hobby now, since I don’t have as much time and I’m not taking it as seriously as before. Still, I’ve been trying to play one blindfold game a day on this account, and my rating’s actually been going up. That kind of progress keeps me motivated. I see chess a bit like going to the gym. At the gym, you train each muscle separately and in chess puzzles can do that too: tactics, endgames, strategy. But chess also needs things like logic, memory, visualization, and pattern recognition. So I treat blindfold chess like training a weak muscle. Even if it’s not the most efficient way to improve, it still helps me build skills and keeps the game fun.