hmm Ive never thought about blindfold chess seriously, especially as a training tool, but now I see, how quickly it can improve visualisation. Like I'm a pretty good calculator, I find unobvious, waiting moves, waving mating nets 5-6 moves deep in vairations sometimes, but I always find myself restarting my calculations many times, going through the moves again and again, cuz it's just difficult for me to keep a position visualized, and analyze it for minutes.
But blindfold chess is hard to get into, especially later on, with decent opening knowledge, as I would know like 10 moves for example, recite them instantly, and I'd have to go back through them, when I have to start calculating on my own.
So an interesting alternative is doing puzzles, but you are given the coordinates of the pieces, not the board itself, and you have to visualise the position, then solve it
@CkickyCheck said in #11:
> hmm Ive never thought about blindfold chess seriously, especially as a training tool, but now I see, how quickly it can improve visualisation. Like I'm a pretty good calculator, I find unobvious, waiting moves, waving mating nets 5-6 moves deep in vairations sometimes, but I always find myself restarting my calculations many times, going through the moves again and again, cuz it's just difficult for me to keep a position visualized, and analyze it for minutes.
>
> But blindfold chess is hard to get into, especially later on, with decent opening knowledge, as I would know like 10 moves for example, recite them instantly, and I'd have to go back through them, when I have to start calculating on my own.
>
> So an interesting alternative is doing puzzles, but you are given the coordinates of the pieces, not the board itself, and you have to visualise the position, then solve it
i used it , it very hard to play against people
Reti thought blindfold was good for beginners according to:
https://en.chessbase.com/post/blindfold-che-history-psychology-champions-records/14#:~:text=Page%2065%20discusses%20a%201928,practical%20value%20of%20blindfold%20chess
@pawngrid said in #13:
> Reti thought blindfold was good for beginners according to:
>
> en.chessbase.com/post/blindfold-che-history-psychology-champions-records/14#:~:text=Page%2065%20discusses%20a%201928,practical%20value%20of%20blindfold%20chess
interesting! maybe part of this is because back then they didnt have access to certain tools like we do today, and the game was very different. there are much more efficient ways for beginners nowadays to strengthen their calculation, and playing blindfolded back then was probably a convenience thing.
i also disagree with him on "a relatively intelligent person can learn to play a game blindfolded in a relatively few weeks". sure, simply memorizing the pieces and visualizing it in your head can be possible, however finding accurate moves and tactics WHILE blindfolded is a whole other game i think beginners will not be able to achieve without having a strong foundation. interesting perspective though, thanks for sharing!
@CkickyCheck said in #11:
> hmm Ive never thought about blindfold chess seriously, especially as a training tool, but now I see, how quickly it can improve visualisation. Like I'm a pretty good calculator, I find unobvious, waiting moves, waving mating nets 5-6 moves deep in vairations sometimes, but I always find myself restarting my calculations many times, going through the moves again and again, cuz it's just difficult for me to keep a position visualized, and analyze it for minutes.
>
> But blindfold chess is hard to get into, especially later on, with decent opening knowledge, as I would know like 10 moves for example, recite them instantly, and I'd have to go back through them, when I have to start calculating on my own.
>
> So an interesting alternative is doing puzzles, but you are given the coordinates of the pieces, not the board itself, and you have to visualise the position, then solve it
thats 100% true, if you play blindfold from the start to end of the game, you should expect yourself going back a few moves to help visualize the board further. if you are unable to do so, i would recommend toggling blindfold on/off throughout certain moments of the game and turn it back on when you lose the position. the puzzles alternative is also great, and many top players do this in their training as well.
I don't think so
improve visualisation. Like I'm a pretty good calculator, I find unobvious, waiting moves, waving mating nets 5-6 moves deep in vairations sometimes, but I always find myself restarting my calculations many times, going through the moves again and again, cuz it's just difficult for me to keep a position visualized, and analyze it for minutes.
>
>But blindfold chess is hard to get into, especially later on, with decent opening knowledge, as I would know like 10 moves for example, recite them instantly, and I'd have to go back through them, when I have to start calculating on my own.
>
>So an interesting alternative is doing puzzles, but you are given the coordinates of the pieces, not the board itself, and you have to visualise the position, then solve it
thats 100% true, if you play blindfold from the start to end of the game, you should expect yourself going back a few moves to help visualize the board further. if you are unable to do so, i would recommend toggling blindfold on/off throughout certain moments of the game and turn it back on when you lose the position. the puzzles alternative is also great, and many top players do this in their training
@BlindfoldedEinstein said in #10:
> As a blindfold chess player, I must respectfully disagree with several assertions in this post . I have seen concrete improvement on Lichess by playing blindfold (My current account for blindfolded chess: @BlindfoldedEinstein), which in turn sharpened my over-the-board calculation: I visualize deeper tactics and strategic motifs than my opponents (1). I play without seeing the board—using a sleep mask over my eyes, listening for move sounds, and typing my replies—because it’s far more engaging, and I simply don’t have time for standard chess these days (1).
>
> Moreover, blindfold chess feels more rewarding than normal play. Even when I blunder, I laugh at myself during the analysis after the game, knowing the mistakes stem from the challenge of blindness, not from a lack of potential. This lightens the emotional burden of defeat and reduces stress, which in my experience accelerates learning (2). Visualization truly is the key to success: “a student’s knowledge of the chessboard should be perfect... Knowledge of the chessboard ... is to aspiring players what mastery of the multiplication tables is to children studying arithmetic” (3). Before embracing blindfold, I spent hours on tactics and rapid games hoping to improve quickly, but anxiety slowed my progress (3).
>
> Playing blindfold relies purely on memory, visualization, and logical assessment of piece forces, which deepens positional awareness rather than reinforcing bad habits (4). On Chess.com, my ratings are 1478 blitz and 1703 rapid (www.chess.com/member/alberteinstein_an), yet I prefer Lichess because it allows solo blindfold games when no partner is available (5).
>
> Today, I mentally “see” complex positions so vividly that I can move pieces in my head while waiting in a bank line—turning unproductive moments into training sessions and steadily enhancing my visualization skill without extra effort (6). Each blindfold game feels cohesive: I never need to guess where a piece sits because it’s firmly imprinted in my mind. My only remaining challenge is improving my move speed, which I trust will come naturally with continued practice (7). Finally, I don’t blindfold to show off, but because the challenge itself is deeply rewarding—winning or losing in this format is infinitely more satisfying than in a regular game (8).
>
> References
> (1) “blindfold chess should 100% not be involved in your training.”
> (2) “trying to play blindfold can lead to frustration, discouragement, and wasted time.”
> (3) “For intermediate players, you will see much more benefit in your game by practicing tactical training, positional understanding, endgame practice, etc.”
> (4) “In some cases, blindfold chess won’t fix your bad habits; it can even reinforce them if you’re not careful.”
> (5) “A recommendation on when to play blindfold is during free time and after tactical training. For example, when your bored, don't just spam 1+0 games with no reason behind it. Instead you could try and play a 10+5 / 15+10 blindfold game with a training partner.”
> (6) “blindfold chess should never be your first priority.”
> (7) “Is it dangerous? For lower rated players, yes. Blindfold can interfere with proper chess development as it prioritizes guessing over calculation, creates mental frustration and burnout, builds sloppiness instead of precision, and wastes valuable improvement time.”
> (8) “Will it impress family and friends? Without a doubt, yes!”
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.
I strongly disagree with the statement that players under 2100 should not do blindfold training. One of the main causes of basic tactical errors in games by lower-rated players is a lack of good board vision (i.e., being able see all possible moves in a given position, particularly when calculating 2-4 move variations). Playing blindfold trains precisely this.
Of course, like any training, there are different difficulty levels. One cannot expect a 1400 to be giving a 10-board blindfold simul. But there are effective forms of blindfold training for players in the amateur range (let's say 1400-2100). For instance, one can take a book of miniature games (each game about 15 moves long) and simply try to follow the entire game without a board; I did this sort of training when I was about 1600 and saw great benefits from it.
@efourwhitewins said in #19:
> I strongly disagree with the statement that players under 2100 should not do blindfold training. One of the main causes of basic tactical errors in games by lower-rated players is a lack of good board vision (i.e., being able see all possible moves in a given position, particularly when calculating 2-4 move variations). Playing blindfold trains precisely this.
>
> Of course, like any training, there are different difficulty levels. One cannot expect a 1400 to be giving a 10-board blindfold simul. But there are effective forms of blindfold training for players in the amateur range (let's say 1400-2100). For instance, one can take a book of miniature games (each game about 15 moves long) and simply try to follow the entire game without a board; I did this sort of training when I was about 1600 and saw great benefits from it.
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.