I reckon the position in 2:53 is from Kasparov v. Topalov, in 1999, and the best move is, much to the entire world's surprise and Topalov's horror, Rxd4!!. Good luck finding it blindfold!
I have an account I use every once in a while to play blindfolded. It’s rated like 500( more than 1000 below my real rating) or so but it’s an incredible visualization exercise and it really helps my helps my game.
Hello Hunk, I’d say both 😀 Yes, it’s a party trick but playing blindfold unlocks new ways to think about chess positions. I feel like it improved my awareness of moves on long diagonales with queen or bishop and possible squares for knights! For sure this won’t add an amount x on my ELO rating, but I think it’s another step to become a better player. Maybe most important: it is really fun to think blindfold about positions, and this alone helps I guess :)
Hej Rajeev love to hear that you like it does means a lot to me 🙏 During the challenge I think I trained between 30 minutes and three hours a day (it’s now already one year ago 🙂). However, I didn’t try to put too much pressure on me and so I only trained as long I had time or as it was fun to me. I was honestly surprised about the result after 30 days. Being able to play a whole game didn’t seem to be a realistic goal at the start. So if you wanna try it (or do you actually play Blindfold Chess already?) keep the fun in focus - that worked at least for me ✌️ Have a great time and let me know about your plans!
Hello Rajeev, thank you for your feedback 🙏 unfortunately I can’t tell you if it’s a safe website or not, i didn’t even realize 🤷♂️ I am not an expert for this, but I guess I had no problems using the website, at least I didn’t mentioned anything.
Thank you! Because of this, you've motivated me to seriously devote my time into my blindfold chess skill (board vision) i am around 1900-2000 elo and i am sure it would help me (but got lazy and didnt really put that much effort into it)
Yes absolutely! With the time I got a clearer view on the actual position and this helped to avoid tactical mistakes and blunders. I’d say you get a better feeling with the time what you need to calculate and what to double check. E.g. pieces on long diagonales (like a queen) on the other side of the board are much harder to recognize than in „normal“ chess. But once you know this you take a few extra seconds to calculate this
Rock takes D4 then he takes it. The other rock goes E7 then his queen takes it. My Queen takes D4(check). He takes king to B8, Queen goes B6(check). If he defends with queen he loose it. If he does by bishop, checkmate by knight to C6.
Hi, good one 👍 the continuation in the game was a little bit different though: 24.Rxd4 cxd4 25.Re7+Kb6 26.Qxd4+Kxa5 27.b4+Ka4 The Game continued to move 44. from there
Hello Saad, that’s a good question :) Having a good understanding of openings and standard patterns will help to remember and to visualize positions. My personal experience is that you build good knowledge here at around 1000-1500 Elo. But is this a must have? Probably not. I’d say give it a try whatever Elo you are if you want to learn this!
Thank you for a great video. Idont know if you still read the comments on this video but in case u do got a quick question for you. I understand you dont visualize the whole board at once but i still dont understand how can you play without doing so. For example i can only visualize a1 to c3, a1 to c1, a1 to a3. Like this kind of corner. But if something is happening at the center of the board that would affect that corner i am not able to visualize it. So if you can explain to me what you actually do is it that you practiced expanding one more squuare at a time (increasing the field of view to c4 or d3 for example) or what :)) thanks again. ❤
Hello Moustafa, thank you for taking your time and giving feedback, this is always welcome and I am happy to answer your question 🙂 I had the same problem but then I realized that at least on lower ratings it should be fine if you don’t always check everything but only something like a queen or bishop in the corner aiming down a long diagonal. Here helps a mathematical approach: if you learn which square belongs to which diagonal you can easy dismiss some options in your calculation. For example. A queen on h8 is aiming down all the way to a1. So b2, c3 and d4 are interesting squares if you have a look in the bottom left corner. So once the queen moves to h8 I try to remember that the queen is aiming down here independent if there might be a knight blocking the diagonal on f6. So I know these are potential target squares for the queen even when the bishop moves. If there is action in the bottom left corner online be careful with a1-d4 and maybe double check if the queen attacks here. This helps me to avoid imagining the whole Board. By the way, for rooks it’s even easier to know, just remember the target line and row. Adding some mathematic to it reduces the amount of calculations you have to do. I hope this helps, if not let me know ✌️🙂
@@Pushment I see that’s a great tip thanks. So you visualize each 4*4 picture in your mind independently of each other and just try to remember or keep note of the targeted squares in the picture u visualize? Another question I had is I can only visualize the bottom left 3*3 any tips on how to increase it to 4*4 or be able to visualize the other quadrants as well? Like I know g2 is white square but sometimes the picture insists on being a dark square because am used to the bottom left visualize which b2 is dark. Thanks again and appreciate ur help
I try to visualize a 4x4 quarter when I really wanna deep dive in a position that is in this corner. Yes, I consider squares that are under attack from pieces outside of that square, but then it’s more like I know like „the whole 5th rank is under attack“ from the rook on a5 when I look at e5-h8. For the second question: I would assume that it is mainly a matter of training. Try out the website to practice visualization and don’t try to „visualize too hard“, visualizing is not like seeing it in a dream, it’s more about „knowing“ what’s going on. Let me know if this helps :)
Does the blindfold ability help you read books with notations or just chess notations in general? I mean when you read opening steps , can you now automatically visualise it?
Great question! Yes it definitely helps and it was actually a part of my motivation because I was always annoyed of chess notation in books because usually I didn’t have a chess board aside when I was reading them. Anyway it’s still challenging, as there are often many variations and in a “normal” game you only calculate what you come up by yourself, that’s somehow easier than understanding someone else’s thoughts :)
@@Pushment I am trying to learn blindfold for the very same reason, my idea is that if I can visualise better, I wont have to go back to board to waste time and I can read books faster and just practice in mind whenever I want, easier said than done but hopefully I can reach that level someday! I wanted to thank you for the resources in the video!
@@Pushment in 1.5 years have you managed to find more resources that have helped you with blindfold chess? I've come across a number of them, one of them by Aiden Rayner , but I cant seem to find proper reviews online so I'm working with noirchess and listudy for now!
@@Pushment for now I'm using noirchess and listudy, I came across a resource from Aiden Rayner(don't move until you see it) , but couldn't find any proper reviews online so didn't go ahead. Have you managed to find any new resources meanwhile?
Completely agree! I love those iconic street chess scenes and really want to play somewhere on the street one day. I used some B-Roll footage from motion array for this, unfortunately my grandfather passed away long ago and I don’t have footage where we play chess. Side note: just on my way to Berlin at the moment to visit a friend ;-)
Hello BF chess, thank you - that’s a good question! I struggled with this as well at the start, but there are actually some thing you can do! 1. Start pretty simple! If visualizing only 4x4 squares is still too much you can do down to 3x3 or even 2x2 squares at the start and increase it again step by step. 2. Learn the coordinates! This helps to memorize single squares at the start and then you’ll remember more with the time. You can use the recommended websites in the description or the build in tools from chess.com, lichess etc. … 3. Learn to name the color of each square and important patterns on the chess board like the long black diagonal from A1 to H8. 4. Take your time and go each day a little further, then you’ll make it 👍😊
Why would you want to memorize a board that's right in front of you? Would you really want to remember something just for the sole purpose of memorizing it? Why play blindfolded if you're allowed to use your eyes?🙂😂
Haha yea I know it’s not for everyone, but I actually found it was quite entertaining 😀 in addition I like the idea that I am able to think of positions even when I don’t have any chess board I front of me 😉✌️
Firstly, learning to play blindfolded requires a very high degree of visualisation ability. Your ability to visualise several moves ahead over a real board will improve at the same time as your ability to see the game in your head Secondly, and maybe more usefully, you can read a chess book without a board in front of you
The hardest part of blindfold chess is the fact that you have to use part of your brain for visualizing and another part for calculating on top of it.
Yes this is tricky, especially if you want to calculate longer combinations all
over the board and getting attacked and attacking at the same time 😀
Good thing I only think 2 moves ahead
this was super helpful especially the websites, thank you so much!!!!
Glad to hear, I am happy that it helped you 🙏🙂
Commenting for the algorithm
I really appreciate this - thank you for being part of our channel 🙏
randomly discovered your channel. good stuff man, keep it up!
Nice to hear that you like it and thank you! 🙏
I reckon the position in 2:53 is from Kasparov v. Topalov, in 1999, and the best move is, much to the entire world's surprise and Topalov's horror, Rxd4!!. Good luck finding it blindfold!
True that! But Kasparov would‘ve found it also blindfold I guess :D
I have an account I use every once in a while to play blindfolded. It’s rated like 500( more than 1000 below my real rating) or so but it’s an incredible visualization exercise and it really helps my helps my game.
Yea exactly, the rating doesn’t really matter. It’s a good way to practice a different point of view in the game!
Did you get better at chess by doing this, or is it just a cool party trick?
Hello Hunk, I’d say both 😀
Yes, it’s a party trick but playing blindfold unlocks new ways to think about chess positions. I feel like it improved my
awareness of moves on long diagonales with queen or bishop and possible squares for knights! For sure this won’t add an amount x on my ELO rating, but I think it’s another step to become a better player. Maybe most important: it is really fun to think blindfold about positions, and this alone helps I guess :)
es muy lpogico que esto ayuda en el cálculo...
A question, what is your playing strength?
Hello Javewave, I am around 1600
Hey man again loved the video but hiw much time did you spend training every day also awsome content watched it over and over ❤
Hej Rajeev love to hear that you like it does means a lot to me 🙏
During the challenge I think I trained between 30 minutes and three hours a day (it’s now already one year ago 🙂). However, I didn’t try to put too much pressure on me and so I only trained as long I had time or as it was fun to me. I was honestly surprised about the result after 30 days. Being able to play a whole game didn’t seem to be a realistic goal at the start.
So if you wanna try it (or do you actually play Blindfold Chess already?) keep the fun in focus - that worked at least for me ✌️
Have a great time and let me know about your plans!
Hey man nice video but is noir chess safe? I mean it is http not https and great video btw desearved a sub from me..... And plz reply
Hello Rajeev, thank you for your feedback 🙏 unfortunately I can’t tell you if it’s a safe website or not, i didn’t even realize 🤷♂️ I am not an expert for this, but I guess I had no problems using the website, at least I didn’t mentioned anything.
This was awesome man. Very helpful too. Keep it up!
Thank you for your kind words. I am happy it helped you!
Great content man, amazing video
Hello Ander, thank you for your feedback 👍
Thank you! Because of this, you've motivated me to seriously devote my time into my blindfold chess skill (board vision)
i am around 1900-2000 elo and i am sure it would help me (but got lazy and didnt really put that much effort into it)
Hey that sounds good! 👍 I actually found this journey way more funny than I expected, so I can definitely recommend it :)
@@Pushment did your blunders (due to beginner tactical mistakes & hung pieces) decrease?
Yes absolutely! With the time
I got a clearer view on the actual position and this helped to avoid tactical mistakes and blunders. I’d say you get a better feeling with the time what you need to calculate and what to double check. E.g. pieces on long diagonales (like a queen) on the other side of the board are much harder to recognize than in „normal“ chess. But once you know this you take a few extra seconds to calculate this
Rock takes D4 then he takes it. The other rock goes E7 then his queen takes it. My Queen takes D4(check). He takes king to B8, Queen goes B6(check). If he defends with queen he loose it. If he does by bishop, checkmate by knight to C6.
Hi, good one 👍 the continuation in the game was a little bit different though:
24.Rxd4 cxd4
25.Re7+Kb6
26.Qxd4+Kxa5
27.b4+Ka4
The Game continued to move 44. from there
Is there a minimum elo that you think someone should have before they start learning blindfold chess?
Hello Saad, that’s a good question :)
Having a good understanding of openings and standard patterns will help to remember and to visualize positions. My personal experience is that you build good knowledge here at around 1000-1500 Elo. But is this a must have? Probably not. I’d say give it a try whatever Elo you are if you want to learn this!
2:57 i believe this was a kasparov game with the best move being rd4
Exactly John, cool you remembered it 💪😊
You can find an analysis of the game from GothamChess here: ruclips.net/video/xuJvmKsDbMM/видео.html
Thank you for a great video. Idont know if you still read the comments on this video but in case u do got a quick question for you. I understand you dont visualize the whole board at once but i still dont understand how can you play without doing so. For example i can only visualize a1 to c3, a1 to c1, a1 to a3. Like this kind of corner. But if something is happening at the center of the board that would affect that corner i am not able to visualize it. So if you can explain to me what you actually do is it that you practiced expanding one more squuare at a time (increasing the field of view to c4 or d3 for example) or what :)) thanks again. ❤
Hello Moustafa, thank you for taking your time and giving feedback, this is always welcome and I am happy to answer your question 🙂
I had the same problem but then I realized that at least on lower ratings it should be fine if you don’t always check everything but only something like a queen or bishop in the corner aiming down a long diagonal. Here helps a mathematical approach: if you learn which square belongs to which diagonal you can easy dismiss some options in your calculation. For example. A queen on h8 is aiming down all the way to a1. So b2, c3 and d4 are interesting squares if you have a look in the bottom left corner. So once the queen moves to h8 I try to remember that the queen is aiming down here independent if there might be a knight blocking the diagonal on f6. So I know these are potential target squares for the queen even when the bishop moves. If there is action in the bottom left corner online be careful with a1-d4 and maybe double check if the queen attacks here. This helps me to avoid imagining the whole Board. By the way, for rooks it’s even easier to know, just remember the target line and row. Adding some mathematic to it reduces the amount of calculations you have to do.
I hope this helps, if not let me know ✌️🙂
@@Pushment I see that’s a great tip thanks. So you visualize each 4*4 picture in your mind independently of each other and just try to remember or keep note of the targeted squares in the picture u visualize? Another question I had is I can only visualize the bottom left 3*3 any tips on how to increase it to 4*4 or be able to visualize the other quadrants as well? Like I know g2 is white square but sometimes the picture insists on being a dark square because am used to the bottom left visualize which b2 is dark. Thanks again and appreciate ur help
I try to visualize a 4x4 quarter when I really wanna deep dive in a position that is in this corner. Yes, I consider squares that are under attack from pieces outside of that square, but then it’s more like I know like „the whole 5th rank is under attack“ from the rook on a5 when I look at e5-h8.
For the second question: I would assume that it is mainly a matter of training. Try out the website to practice visualization and don’t try to „visualize too hard“, visualizing is not like seeing it in a dream, it’s more about „knowing“ what’s going on. Let me know if this helps :)
@Pushment I see that makes so much sense actually I appreciate the help will train everyday till I get it. 💪 💪
Happy to hear that ✌️ let me know about your progress and if you have another question 🙂
Does the blindfold ability help you read books with notations or just chess notations in general?
I mean when you read opening steps , can you now automatically visualise it?
Great question! Yes it definitely helps and it was actually a part of my motivation because I was always annoyed of chess notation in books because usually I didn’t have a chess board aside when I was reading them. Anyway it’s still challenging, as there are often many variations and in a “normal” game you only calculate what you come up by yourself, that’s somehow easier than understanding someone else’s thoughts :)
@@Pushment I am trying to learn blindfold for the very same reason, my idea is that if I can visualise better, I wont have to go back to board to waste time and I can read books faster and just practice in mind whenever I want, easier said than done but hopefully I can reach that level someday!
I wanted to thank you for the resources in the video!
Sounds like a good plan :)
I am happy that it was useful for you, let me know if you find other interesting sources, it would really help me 👍
@@Pushment in 1.5 years have you managed to find more resources that have helped you with blindfold chess?
I've come across a number of them, one of them by Aiden Rayner , but I cant seem to find proper reviews online so I'm working with noirchess and listudy for now!
@@Pushment for now I'm using noirchess and listudy, I came across a resource from Aiden Rayner(don't move until you see it) , but couldn't find any proper reviews online so didn't go ahead.
Have you managed to find any new resources meanwhile?
100% Deutsch
Haha, Danke (sofern als Kompliment gedacht)!🙏
Does the author live in Berlin?
Of the book or this video?
@@Pushment video
Nah, it’s a few 100 kilometers more to the west ;-) can I ask you why you came up with Berlin?
@@Pushment cause I saw people in the video playing chess at the street. Sadly it's not really a thing here in Berlin unlike let's say in NYC.
Completely agree! I love those iconic street chess scenes and really want to play somewhere on the street one day. I used some B-Roll footage from motion array for this, unfortunately my grandfather passed away long ago and I don’t have footage where we play chess.
Side note: just on my way to Berlin at the moment to visit a friend ;-)
hello my idol,i'm having a problem of imagining the chessboard, is there any solution for it?
Hello BF chess, thank you - that’s a good question! I struggled with this as well at the start, but there are actually some thing you can do!
1. Start pretty simple! If visualizing only 4x4 squares is still too much you can do down to 3x3 or even 2x2 squares at the start and increase it again step by step.
2. Learn the coordinates! This helps to memorize single squares at the start and then you’ll remember more with the time. You can use the recommended websites in the description or the build in tools from chess.com, lichess etc. …
3. Learn to name the color of each square and important patterns on the chess board like the long black diagonal from A1 to H8.
4. Take your time and go each day a little further, then you’ll make it 👍😊
@@Pushment thank you very much ,but Should we imagine both the board and the pieces, or one by one?
when i first started imagining 2x3 3x3 4x4...
*2x2*
Start without the pieces, it’s much easier :)
Crazy 😂😂😂 was ist dein Fide elo?
Hallo Marcello, ich spiele nur online und meine das zählt nicht als offizielles FIDE Rating oder? Da bin ich bei ca. 1600 ✌️
@@Pushment irgendwie ist mein Kommentar verschwunden. 1600 bei lichess?
Bei Chess.com, bei lichess hab ich länger nicht gespielt aber da war es ähnlich
@@Pushment respekt
Danke dir!
Why would you want to memorize a board that's right in front of you? Would you really want to remember something just for the sole purpose of memorizing it? Why play blindfolded if you're allowed to use your eyes?🙂😂
Haha yea I know it’s not for everyone, but I actually found it was quite entertaining 😀 in addition I like the idea that I am able to think of positions even when I don’t have any chess board I front of me 😉✌️
Firstly, learning to play blindfolded requires a very high degree of visualisation ability. Your ability to visualise several moves ahead over a real board will improve at the same time as your ability to see the game in your head
Secondly, and maybe more usefully, you can read a chess book without a board in front of you