Blindfold chess, also known as sans voir, is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces and do not touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces. Moves are communicated via a recognized chess notation.
Blindfold chess was considered miraculous for centuries but now there is greater recognition of people who can keep track of more than one simultaneous blindfolded game.[1] In simultaneous blindfold play, an intermediary usually relays the moves between the players.
Early history
Blindfold chess was first played quite early on in the history of chess, with perhaps the first game being played by Sa'id bin Jubair (665–714) in the Middle East.[citation needed][2] In Europe, playing chess blindfolded became popular as a means of handicapping a chess master when facing a weaker opponent, or of simply displaying one's superior abilities.
Morphy playing blindfold chess
H. J. R. Murray in his book A History of Chess recorded another type of unseen chess: two Central Asian horsemen riding side by side playing chess by calling chess moves to each other without using a board or pieces.[3]
The first known blindfold event in Europe took place in Florence in 1266.[1] In 1783 the great French player André Danican Philidor demonstrated his ability to play up to three blindfold games simultaneously with great success, with newspapers highlighting his achievement, having taught himself to visualize the board while in bed at night when he had trouble sleeping.
Paul Morphy held in 1858 a blindfold exhibition against the eight strongest players in Paris with the stunning result of six wins and two draws. Other early masters of blindfold chess were Louis Paulsen, Joseph Henry Blackburne (he played up to 16 simultaneous blindfold games), and the first world champion Wilhelm Steinitz, who in 1867 played six simultaneous blindfold games in Dundee, winning three and drawing three. It was seen by these masters as a good source of income. One of the first female players that is known for having played blindfold in the 1870s is Ellen Gilbert.[4]
As time went by the records for blindfold exhibitions increased. In 1900 Harry Nelson Pillsbury played 20 games simultaneously in Philadelphia; not long after attempting the unusual feat of playing 15 chess and 15 checkers games simultaneously (the record for blindfold checkers being 28 simultaneous games). The Czechoslovak player Richard Réti and Russian World Champion Alexander Alekhine were the next to significantly further the record.
20th century history
In 1924, at the Alamac Hotel of New York, Alekhine played 26 simultaneous blindfold games against very strong opponents (Isaac Kashdan and Hermann Steiner among them), with the score of 16 wins, 5 losses, and 5 draws. This was probably the strongest of any blindfold exhibitions ever held. The next year in February in Paris he faced 28 teams of four players each, with the impressive result of 22 wins, 3 losses, and 3 draws. In the same year, Réti bettered this record by playing 29 players simultaneously in São Paulo, and commented on his poor memory after leaving his briefcase behind after the event.
On July 16, 1934, in Chicago, Alekhine set the new world record by playing 32 blindfold games,[5] with 19 wins, 4 losses, and 9 draws. Edward Lasker was the referee for this event.
Then the world record was set by George Koltanowski on 20 September 1937, in Edinburgh, who played 34 chess games simultaneously while blindfolded.[lower-alpha 1] He won 24 games and lost 10 over a period of 13 hours. Later Miguel Najdorf broke that record twice. Najdorf's first record in Rosario, Argentina, in 1943, was against 40 opponents, scoring 36 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses.[6] and was organised in an effort to gain sufficient publicity to communicate to his family that he was still alive, as he had remained in Argentina after travelling from his native Poland to compete in the 1939 Chess Olympiad, during which German Invasion of Poland occurred. He increased this record to 45 opponents in São Paulo in 1947, with the result of 39 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses.[7] Although Koltanowski initially did not acknowledge Najdorf's record, because he thought that he allegedly had access to the scoresheets, and there were multiple opponents per board, claiming that he could have managed 100 games under those conditions,[8][9] Najdorf's records are considered legitimate by modern historians.[10] Hungarian Janos Flesch claimed to have bettered this record in Budapest in 1960, playing 52 opponents with 31 wins, 3 draws, and 18 losses. However, this record attempt was somewhat sullied by the fact that Flesch was permitted to verbally recount the scores of the games in progress. It also took place over a remarkably short period of time, around five hours, and included many short games.[8][10]
One other notable blindfold record was set in 1960 by Koltanowski in San Francisco, when he played 56 consecutive blindfold games at a rate of 10 seconds a move. The exhibition lasted 9 hours with the result of 50 wins and 6 losses.[11] His specialty was conducting a blindfold Knight's Tour on boards of up to 192 squares.
21st century 24-hour blindfold chess records
A new European record was set in November 2010 by German Marc Lang in Sontheim, Germany, playing 35 opponents with 19 wins, 13 draws, and 3 losses over a period of 23 hours.[12]
Lang improved the world record a year later in November 2011 once again in Sontheim by playing 46 opponents simultaneously and blindfolded, with 25 wins, 19 draws, and just 2 losses.[12][13]
On December 3, 2016, Timur Gareyev played 48 opponents with a mask before his eyes and sitting on an exercise bike, resulting in 35 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses.[14]
Health concerns
While blindfold chess has been recommended in moderation by many sources as a method of increasing one's playing strength, simultaneous blindfold exhibitions were officially banned in the USSR in 1930 as they were deemed to be a significant health hazard.[15][1][16]Mikhail Botvinnik also warned against it.[1] Blindfold players have reported that it is more tiring than regular play, even if faster time controls are used.[1]
Psychology
Given that it seems to require extraordinary visuo-spatial abilities and memory, this form of chess has led to considerable research in psychology, starting with the research of Alfred Binet in 1893, continuing with the work of chess grandmaster and psychoanalystReuben Fine in 1965, and culminating in the late 20th century with several scientific articles describing experiments on the psychology of blindfold chess.[17] In general, this research shows that the crucial attributes of blindfold chess players are their acquired knowledge and their ability to carry out visuo-spatial operations in the mind's eye.
Modern status
Today there are Blindfold Chess Tournaments held throughout the year, with the highest profile event previously being the Melody Amber Tournament, held in Monte Carlo until 2011. Of the modern-day players, Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Alexei Shirov, and Alexander Morozevich have proven themselves to be particularly strong at blindfold chess, being alternating winners of the Amber Tournaments between 1996 and 2007. Levon Aronian has won Amber three times since then and won the blindfold event at the 2012 SportAccord World Mind Games.
In 2009 the book Blindfold Chess, History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records and Important Games, by Eliot Hearst and John Knott was published. It was winner of the Fred Cramer Award for the Best Chess Book of 2009, sponsored by the U.S. Chess Federation, the Chess Journalists of America, and the U.S. Chess Trust.
Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns.
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was the third world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play.
Reuben C. Fine was an American chess player, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology. He was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mid-1930s until his retirement from chess in 1951. He was granted the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, when titles were introduced.
Harry Nelson Pillsbury was a leading American chess player. At the age of 22, he won the Hastings 1895 chess tournament, one of the strongest tournaments of the time, but his illness and early death prevented him from challenging for the World Chess Championship.
Joseph Henry Blackburne was a British chess player. Nicknamed "The Black Death", he dominated the British scene during the latter part of the 19th century. Blackburne learned the game at the relatively late age of 17 or 18, but he quickly became a strong player and went on to develop a professional chess career that spanned over 50 years. At one point he was one of the world's leading players, with a string of tournament victories behind him, and popularised chess by giving simultaneous and blindfold displays around the country. Blackburne also published a collection of his own games.
This is a timeline of chess.
Miguel Najdorf was a Polish–Argentine chess grandmaster. Originally from Poland, he was in Argentina when World War II began in 1939, and he stayed and settled there. He was a leading world player in the 1940s and 1950s, and is also known for the Najdorf Variation, one of the most popular chess openings.
Ossip Samoilovich Bernstein was a French chess player and businessman. He was one of the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950.
Timur Gareyev is an Uzbekistani and American chess grandmaster.
A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition in which one player plays multiple games at a time with a number of other players. Such an exhibition is often referred to simply as a "simul".
George Koltanowski was a Belgian-born American chess player, promoter, and writer. He was informally known as "Kolty". Koltanowski set the world's blindfold record on 20 September 1937, in Edinburgh, by playing 34 chess games simultaneously while blindfolded, making headline news around the world. He also set a record in 1960 for playing 56 consecutive blindfold games at ten seconds per move.
János Flesch was a chess Grandmaster, chess writer and coach, born in Budapest, Hungary. He is best known for claiming a world record simultaneous blindfold exhibition when he played 52 opponents in Budapest in 1960. However, he was apparently allowed to consult scoresheets as well as verbally recount moves of the games in progress and therefore, his claim was disallowed.
In chess, a blunder is a critically bad mistake that severely worsens the player's position by allowing a loss of material, checkmate, or anything similar. It is usually caused by some tactical oversight, whether due to time trouble, overconfidence, or carelessness. Although blunders are most common in beginner games, all human players make them, even at the world championship level. Creating opportunities for the opponent to blunder is an important skill in over-the-board chess.
Dimitrije Bjelica is a Serbian chess FIDE Master. He has organised many big events and was the arbiter at tournaments like Linares. Chess historian Edward Winter has noted that Bjelica's books are rife with misspellings and sometimes contain plagiarized material.
Events in chess in 1932:
Events in chess in 1933:
A tandem simultaneous exhibition or leapfrog simultaneous exhibition or partnership chess is a form of simultaneous exhibition in which more than one players play multiple games at a time with a number of other players, making successive moves without consulting one another. Such an exhibition is often referred to simply as a "tandem simul" or "leapfrog simul". When conducted by more than two experts, it is often called a sequential simul.
Ramón Lontoc Jr., was a Filipino chess player and eight-time Filipino Chess Championship winner.
Eliot S. Hearst was an American psychologist and professional chess player known for his writings on blindfold chess.
↑ The World of Chess, by Anthony Saidy and Norman Lessing, 1974, p. 22. This source gives the date as only "1933" and no indication of the number of games won/drawn/lost.
↑ "In the later part of 1943, sensational news came from Rosario, Argentina; a United Press story told of the new world record made by Mendel Najdorf of Poland. It was said that he had played 40 games. So far no game, or other positive verification, of this marvelous exhibition has come to light. (...) Most recent news from Latin America indicated that Najdorf has surpassed his previous reported feat by successfully conducting 45 simultaneous blindfold games. If it can be shown that conditions of play were bona fide, and if these performances by Najdorf are ever recognized as official, then we are at the height of human possibility in the blindfold field." (George Koltanowski in Adventures of a Chess Master. A Short History of Blindfold Chess, p. 20–21 [1955])
1 2 Hearst, Eliot & Knott, John (2009). Blindfold Chess: history, psychology, techniques, champions, world records and important games. McFarland & Company.
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