18 Oct 06
I have been practicing a little because I used to play blindfolded and now I cant play more than maybe 10 to 12 moves. I understand that it must improve my ability to analyze,
Lately I have found very usefull the new opption from RHP on the mail notifications names, it also displays your opponents move in algebraic, so I just see the move, try to remember the game and to come with a reply in my mind, then I go to the game and find that I was forgetting something most of the times.
Do you have any sugestion on improving this ability?
18 Oct 06
Originally posted by SupermanDo tactics in your head. That helps a lot.
I have been practicing a little because I used to play blindfolded and now I cant play more than maybe 10 to 12 moves. I understand that it must improve my ability to analyze,
Lately I have found very usefull the new opption from RHP on the mail notifications names, it also displays your opponents move in algebraic, so I just see the move, try to rememb ...[text shortened]... forgetting something most of the times.
Do you have any sugestion on improving this ability?
Also I read a couple of articles about blindfolded chess. Masters don't have a board in their head with the pieces there but they clump things into groups.
So like f7,g6,h7, Bg7,Kg8,Rf8 would be considered 1 group called the Fianchetto kings bishop.
There's an article I was just reading today about normal players to master and the differences in thinking. Interested?
18 Oct 06
Originally posted by buddy2I was going to make a reply disputing this, but looked it up real quickly and found that he didn't even play in the Amber tournaments, so I guess this is true.
I'm not sure playing without sight of board will help your chess. Kasparov (as far as i know) didn't play blindfold.
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18 Oct 06
Originally posted by RahimKExpanding a bit more on this subject I recall reading an article about this. The consious mind can hold 4-5 (not sure if these were the exact figures it was something very closed to 4-5 if not that precisely) blocks of information at any one time.....what does this mean for chess players? Well a newbie will look at the board and see 20-30 pieces so 20-30 blocks of information which the brain cant handle, so they drop pieces etc. More experience players dont see 20-30 pieces they see piece groups and how they interact with each each other meaning that a more experienced player can handle the information processing much easier/quicker.
Do tactics in your head. That helps a lot.
Also I read a couple of articles about blindfolded chess. Masters don't have a board in their head with the pieces there but they clump things into groups.
So like f7,g6,h7, Bg7,Kg8,Rf8 would be considered 1 group called the Fianchetto kings bishop.
There's an article I was just reading today about normal players to master and the differences in thinking. Interested?
I recently have also been trying to improve my blindfolded chess, I got Tisdall's "Improve your chess now" which covers stepping stones etc and "Excelling at Chess Caculation" by Aaggaard which covers how to pick candiate moves, caculate etc. On top of that iv also been playing blind all on playchess. Its having good effects.
18 Oct 06
Originally posted by RahimKI can't picture the position in my head, or at least i can't picture the whole position at once. When a piece moves i follow all the moves it can make from it's new position and remember the important squares it can attack. I build up the position based on threats, rather than blindly remembering the position. I often have to recount the moves a piece has made in order to remember where it is. Seems to work though.
Do tactics in your head. That helps a lot.
Also I read a couple of articles about blindfolded chess. Masters don't have a board in their head with the pieces there but they clump things into groups.
So like f7,g6,h7, Bg7,Kg8,Rf8 would be considered 1 group called the Fianchetto kings bishop.
There's an article I was just reading today about normal players to master and the differences in thinking. Interested?
19 Oct 06
Originally posted by SupermanWith your rating, I would forget playing blindfold chess. I would more readily study tactics, endgames, and then tactics, and then some more endgame. And, always open with e4. 🙂 In fact, I wouldn't even think of playing blindfold chess until I personally hit 2200 master. Then, I may think about it. For now, let's just concentrate on playing good chess. Right now, in the 1400s, we're playing terribly. And, this brings me to one final note to add. I remember World Chess Champion Petrosian commenting that he never really set out to be the World Chess Champion. He added he only wanted to play good chess. That was his goal. I only ended up World CHess CHampion, he concluded. 🙂
I have been practicing a little because I used to play blindfolded and now I cant play more than maybe 10 to 12 moves. I understand that it must improve my ability to analyze,
Lately I have found very usefull the new opption from RHP on the mail notifications names, it also displays your opponents move in algebraic, so I just see the move, try to rememb ...[text shortened]... forgetting something most of the times.
Do you have any sugestion on improving this ability?
19 Oct 06
I agree with Powershaker. If you think about it, when you take out a tactics book and analyze the position, look for a mate or combination, you're playing blindfold chess. When you're sitting at a board and looking ahead several moves, you're playing blindfold. As Pwerskr said, just try to play your best chess. Who cares if you're blindfold, standing on your head, or listinening to rap music while you do it. Playing blindfold doesn't help your chess. It's a stunt meant to impress beginners. Some good players can do it, some can't, but i've never heard a top level player say blindfold helped their chess. There was an Irish writer who, because he was handicapped, typed a whole novel with his toes. They made amovie about it called "My Left Foot." The movie was good. I read the novel. It wasn't.
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19 Oct 06
2 edits
Originally posted by buddy2Id say learning to play blindfolded is a sure way to get better at chess, especially for endgames, some positions need 8-15+ moves deep caculation. I wouldnt say learning to play the whole game blindfolded is a must but because it will improve your visualization when caculating it helps avoid blunders and see further down lines thats got to be good.
I agree with Powershaker. If you think about it, when you take out a tactics book and analyze the position, look for a mate or combination, you're playing blindfold chess. When you're sitting at a board and looking ahead several moves, you're playing blindfold. As Pwerskr said, just try to play your best chess. Who cares if you're blindfold, standing on y e about it called "My Left Foot." The movie was good. I read the novel. It wasn't.
Also helps when reading chess books or looking over games, dont keep having to go back to your board.
Edit : Im mainly speaking from an OTB point of view. Blindfolded isnt really a must for correspondence players.
19 Oct 06
2 edits
Originally posted by BedlamI think what you're truly attempting to say - though you do not realize it - is that a good vizualization of the chess board is a good thing. Lev Alburt says this also in his chess course, of which I am a student. Anyway, yes, a good visual understanding of the chess board I believe is paramount to becoming a stronger and stronger chess player. Diagonals, names of squares, vizualizing knight maneuvers from a1 to h6? Six moves, right? Yah. This is what you're saying in retrospect. However, this does not infer that you play blindfold chess to obtain such visual insight of the board. Rather, the better your visualization of the chess board, the better you will or will not desire to play blindfold chess. Blindfold chess attempts in and of themselves do not help you to attain a better understanding of the chess board visually. It's rather the understanding and memorization of variations through hard work and the studying a many thousands and thousands of positions that yields a blindfold ability. Very, very strong players, Expert and beyond often reach blindfold level, because they become well versed and adroit in their visual gymnastics on the chess board. Personally, I can play blindfold if I use the Stonewall Attack, and have played a full game and won over the telephone against my mother. Why? Because I know pretty much ever normal response to the Stonewall Attack if I am playing White. In that same sense, great players - much better than I will ever dream to become - know many such lines as this, possibly hundreds. Sure, it's possible. But, blindfold in and of itself does not help your chess. Rather, let's learn to play better chess. Leave blindfold chess to those players who get so bored with winning in the normal sense (they are so very good) that they desire to impress with blindfold chess and give us something to think about and celebrate. Hail Morphy!
Id say learning to play blindfolded is a sure way to get better at chess, especially for endgames, some positions need 8-15+ moves deep caculation. I wouldnt say learning to play the whole game blindfolded is a must but because it will improve your visualization when caculating it helps avoid blunders and see further down lines thats got to be good.
Also ...[text shortened]... speaking from an OTB point of view. Blindfolded isnt really a must for correspondence players.
p.s. Bedlam, with your 2000 rating? No wonder you love blindfold chess. I'm talking to the class player - not you. Cheers!
19 Oct 06
Originally posted by BedlamHere's the full article for anyone who's interested.
Expanding a bit more on this subject I recall reading an article about this. The consious mind can hold 4-5 (not sure if these were the exact figures it was something very closed to 4-5 if not that precisely) blocks of information at any one time.....what does this mean for chess players? Well a newbie will look at the board and see 20-30 pieces so 20-30 bl ...[text shortened]... etc. On top of that iv also been playing blind all on playchess. Its having good effects.
http://tinyurl.com/rbqhs
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19 Oct 06
2 edits
Originally posted by powershakerIm saying you should be able to look 10 moves deep and still see the board crystal clear. 🙂
I think what you're truly attempting to say - though you do not realize it - is that a good vizualization of the chess board is a good thing. Lev Alburt says this also in his chess course, of which I am a student. Anyway, yes, a good visual understanding of the chess board I believe is paramount to becoming a stronger and stronger chess player. Diagona No wonder you love blindfold chess. I'm talking to the class player - not you. Cheers!
Playing blindfolded chess is only a way to improve your visualization and calculating abilities two essential weapons of every chess player. I dont play blindfolded chess just for the sake of playing blindfolded chess nor do I play correspondence just for the sake of correspondence both are there to improve my over all game and hopefully my OTB ability at the same time 🙂
I will give the example Tisdall does in his book. Try to do this in your mind without using a board etc.
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e5 d4 4.Nce2 Ne4 5.c3 dxc3
What should white play?
Some people will be able to do this easy while others might struggle a bit, the point being those that can do it in their head as easy as seeing it on a board have a definte advantage when it comes to calculating ahead in chess which basicly means better OTB players.
ps. I got Tisdall's problem badly wrong which sort of highlighted to me that my chess might be weak in an area I hadnt considered before. Since then when iv been playing chess OTB or at playchess and iv made a mistake/blunder etc iv instantly tried to see why that occurred, a lot of them came from bad visualization and calculating and not from lack of theory etc.
19 Oct 06
Originally posted by powershakerWhat you don't realise is that playing with a blindfold forces you to take a completely different approach to the game. When i play here, i can open up the analyse board and experiment. I can move each piece around and see what things look like. When i play OTB, i can do a similar thing, but more limited. I can follow one line and forget about the current position as i can simply look at it again whenever i want.
I think what you're truly attempting to say - though you do not realize it - is that a good vizualization of the chess board is a good thing. Lev Alburt says this also in his chess course, of which I am a student. Anyway, yes, a good visual understanding of the chess board I believe is paramount to becoming a stronger and stronger chess player. Diagona ...[text shortened]... No wonder you love blindfold chess. I'm talking to the class player - not you. Cheers!
When you play blindfolded, you have to remember the position! It is a mental excersise that is extrememly valuable. You are forced to develop great concentration and memory. These two skills are essential in chess and are displayed by ALL strong players. You can't read a book to learn this aspect of the game, it is a psychological state that some people have naturally got, and one which the rest of us are often completely unaware of. Play a couple of games with a blindfold on and you'll realise exactly what i'm talking about.
20 Oct 06
Originally posted by RahimKYes I think its an interesting way to look at it, groups of pieces, I try to have the board in my head, I havent thought of it that way.
Do tactics in your head. That helps a lot.
Also I read a couple of articles about blindfolded chess. Masters don't have a board in their head with the pieces there but they clump things into groups.
So like f7,g6,h7, Bg7,Kg8,Rf8 would be considered 1 group called the Fianchetto kings bishop.
There's an article I was just reading today about normal players to master and the differences in thinking. Interested?
Yes I am interested, thanks for your answer.
20 Oct 06
Originally posted by buddy2Personaly I think it can help your ability to analize since any way you have to visualise the board in your head to see some moves in advance, and the most interesting part is to visualize the diferent posibilities in advance since the threatened squares and piece movilities change from move to move.
I'm not sure playing without sight of board will help your chess. Kasparov (as far as i know) didn't play blindfold. Some great players do play blindfold, but i think they can do that because they're great players, not the other way around.