Blindfold chess & Memory palace

maybe there’s someone here capable of blindfold chess and willing to shed some light on how it is even possible to memories several boards? or even a single one? is there a system to it?  seem like it takes superpowers… 

years ago i thought that memorizing a pack of 52 cards takes superpowers too, but then i was introduced to the Memory palace system which made it fairly easy. and it makes me wonder… 

ive just been playing chess for so long i can play blindfolded at around 900. For me it was just being so familiar with the board, that i can play blindfold chess decently. I do know that when masters play multiple blindfold games, they go for different positions rather than similar, because they dont want to confuse them, and being able to make distinct charectoristics of a position is useful.

it amaze me that you can even remember where the pieces are after several moves. do you maintain an imaginary board in your mind, or is it more like a list of the notations, or something else?

#4
"do you maintain an imaginary board in your mind, or is it more like a list of the notations"
++ A bit of both. About a quarter imaginary board in the mind, reconstructing the positions of the other pieces from the remembered moves if necessary.
I have never played multiple boards, but I have often played blindfold on one board.

so for you it’s 75% or so about remembering the moves, accompanied with a blurry image of a board? that’s interesting. how would you describe the image of the ‘imaginary’ board you see? 

#7
No, I mainly have a mental vision on a quarter of the board i.e. clear vision on 16 squares.
The rest of the mental board is blurry, but I can reconstruct it to a clear image by remembering the moves.

that’s way cool. and what you refer to as a mental vision or just say imaginary board… if you could draw a picture of it, what would it look like?

#4

For me it is more of just remembering where each piece is on the board, I am working on the being able to construct that image in my mind but it is really tough. I also find it veryu useful to be able to see a blank board as it makes seeing long diagnals easier.

A friend of mine, says that when he plays blindfold chess rather than imagine the pieces he imagines where that piece can move. Ive tried it that way but it doesnt work for me.

this is fascinating. in your mind, are you working with a flat board or a 3d? is it always the same one?

It is really difficult for me to get the picture. Usually it is just a 2d image though. I have tried sometimes to imagine that i am playing with a chess board, and pretend to move pieces with my hand. And in that case i do see a lot more vividly a 3d board.

I’m curious… when your eyes are shut, and you see nothing but darkness. Do you try to project the imaginary board “visually” in front of your eyes (similar to the way you use vision with your eyes open) or are you trying to bypass the whole visionary system and tap directly to a different part of your brain?

not sure if I communicated this correctly, yet I hope it makes some sense.

#13
Of course it is visual. Dreams are visual too. It is like looking at the board. When I look at a board I focus on some part (about quarter) of it and likewise when playing blindfold.
I always played white when blindfolded. White at the bottom is like chess diagrams.

Which quarter are you focusing on? I’m not familiar with this system at all.

I like your comparison with dreams. The mechanics of it may have some similarities.

I just try to focus on visualizing, and whatever feels the best at the moment i do. I will say however, that if i am able to see a blank board infront of me, my strength in blindfold chess increases by a lot. like barely losing to my dad, to ablsolutely crushing him in 15 moves

It is a long journey. I'm at the beginning.

1. Learn the colour of the squares, ACE-G on first rank and odd numbers on those files are black. Think "ACE" of spades.

Another way is to remember is to add the number of the square and the number of the letter. An even number is black e.g. a1: a(1)+1=2 black; e4: e(5)+4=9 white.

The best way is one that works for you. You may find your own unique system.

2. Learn colours and squares of diagonals.

Chess.com has videos on "Achieving full board awareness" and "Achieving full board nirvana" by Daniel Rensch also a "blindfold" setting to help practice. Other videos would be "how to be a tactical genius" videos 3 and 4 by David Pruess.

https://www.chess.com/video/player/achieving-full-board-awareness

https://www.chess.com/video/player/achieving-full-board-nirvana

Once you have those down a helpful book is "Cognitive Chess: Improving visualization and calculation skills" (2021) by Konstantin Chernyshov. It's a workbook with a daily study schedule.

For starting it is helpful to use openings that you are familiar with this makes it easier to visualize moves by both sides. Studying miniature games, less than 25 moves, is also a good way to start.

If it was easy everybody would do it.

Best of luck.

what does it mean for you to see a blank board? can you give me more to work with?

#16
"Which quarter are you focusing on?"
++ Like in a real game: I look at the region of the board that is interesting at that time.
When I am pondering attacking his Kg8, I will look at the upper right quarter.
When black pushes a pawn to a4 I will look at the bottom left quarter.

a chess board without the pieces on it.

Back in the late 1970s... or was it the 1870s?... before my brain turned to porridge, anyway, I played the three top players on the Mount Allison University chess team, simultaneously, taking the Black pieces in all three games. I won all three games.

I found that having an empty chess board laid out in front of me was a great aid to visualization.