Chess and visual imagery

I am 25 yrs old and started playing chess late last year. I only recently learned for the first time that almost everybody has a visual imagery..  I always thought no one had a third eye. I cannot see the image of the board if I close my eyes. 

So my question is, can you get any good in chess with the inability to visualize images?
Does anyone else the same condition? maybe some insights on how you cope with it.

It's pretty hard to visualise the board clearly, but it's fairly simple to play blindfold chess even at this level. I even played a few OTB blindfold matches against MSC157 for example.

https://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/suu-blindfold-lj

https://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/freixenet-blindfold-2016

Here is a sample game:

So, I believe it's just a matter of practice. The more you play, the better your visualisation will become, but it hurts not to train it a bit as well by playing some blindfold.

It's not a matter of just trying. I will never be able to visualize no matter what.. If I close my eyes all I see is darkness. I can't even see my kid's face if I close my eyes.

#3 Nice game. Blindfold is something I will never be able to do.. Nice to see that you don't need to be a master to play a blindfold game

m8, you've been playing chess for half a year or so - you seem to be at a pretty decent level already, given the time, but you can't give up at this stage already. Just continue with your improvement and it will come naturally. I fail to see how can you be already able to determine visualisation is something you aren't capable of doing, ever. BS imho

What do you mean bs? Check out aphantasia and you'll know what I am talking about. I know I'll get better and am happy with my progress, since it's just for fun and haven't read a book or anything. 

Just wanted to see if there's anyone else out there who can't visualize and have achieved an expert level rating..

bump

Pattern recognition is the third eye needed in chess that you're talking about.

Thank you for the response bb_gum..  Exactly like you said, I can't see the square but I definitely know it's there.. difficult to describe..  
I can see my dreams vividly, problem is when am awake... 96% of the population can see a picture in their head.. We are the unlucky 4%.

I can see like 4/5 moves deep.. But the moves have to be forcing.. On the diagram above I can see up until the bishop takes the rook and king on d8. I can virtually move pieces around the board with my mind and can keep trace of where they are until the final position. 

Couples of 100 more would be enough, it's not like I wanna be a pro chess player or something..

When I close my eyes, I see mostly darkness.  Staring at a position, I can move the pieces and get close to 10 moves(20 plies) without making a mistake.  The real problem with this is that the pieces I see become ghosts on my mind's board. I've spent way too much time watching water boil, so I had to develop this to save my sanity.  (Although I did fail.)

As another said, the more you play, the more tactical patterns you will see, and seeing them will become easier.

Hi

I have aphantasia and understand your problem completely.  I've played for many years and for so long I really struggled to understand why other players seemed to acquire knowledge so easily.  I can barely remember any theory because I just can't store it.  I can't remember a single game.  I can't replay a game even when I've just finished it.  I'm sure the aphantasia is involved in this.  I am about 1850 FIDE which is ok but I do wonder how much better I could have been.  Enjoy the game as best you can!

I don't visualize any chess position. But I've studied 1000s of chess chess position, puzzles and problems. I can find a strong move (maybe not the best). I prefer to imagine other things than chess position.

I know that this post was created 3 years ago, but I will respond anyway. I think you can become a good chess player. I also have aphantasia and I have been seeking out advice. I don’t have a very high rating, but I can give you this advice. 

• Work on pattern recognition and positional play. Try to memorize as many patterns as you can so that you won’t have to calculate much
•  Always look at checks, captures, and threats before you move. This will help you avoid blundering. 

Hi Rasta_Jay,

I have tge same problem.  Even when I dream, there are no images, only audio and a "knowing" about the circumstances.  In my case, it coukd be due to being born blind. I had surgery when I was about 2 years old and now can see about 25% of what others can.

I found the ChessVis app a great help to build my memory to compensate for my aphantasia.

I wrote about this here: https://link.medium.com/y82a3SscJkb

I can't visualize at all. When I close my eyes to "see" the board, I see nothing but the darkness behind my eyelids.

Aphantasia is the term, I believe (as others have already mentioned).

I don't believe visualization is required to be a good chess player. I've done fine without it, so far.

The more important quality (IMO) is learning how to properly assess the board, becoming familiar with your repertoire, and learning how to find sound, strong moves.

If you can do that on a consistent basis, visualization isn't required at all ...

This was more encouraging than words can express!  I don't aspire to be a chess master, or even to any specific ELO rating.  I'm more interested in the potential for chess to develop and improve my mind. Since all I see is a black wall when I close my eyes, my memory is all I have.  If I study diligently enough, I now have confidence that I can improve at chess--that my aphantasia need NOT hold me back.  Thank you so much!

You're most welcome. You can certainly improve at the game (as well as enjoy it) without visualization. Best of luck!

I'm really happy to find this thread here. Last night I went to sleep very discouraged and thinking about finding a different hobby/interest.

I just started learning chess about a month ago. Been watching a lot of Daniel Naroditsky videos. When I saw him closing his eyes to run lines, I tried to do the same and figured out that I can't see anything when I close my eyes; just blackness. I try to form a simple circle or square in my mind's eye and see nothing. My dreams are all images, and as I am drifting off to sleep I start seeing images, but not voluntarily. Can a 47-year old man with Aphantasia learn chess and become a master player? It's not going to be easy. I always wondered why I sucked so bad at art in school, and how people draw and paint.

I think for people like us, storing patterns and relying on "instincts" may be the way we have to go. I play a lot of puzzles and am starting to remember checkmating patterns. When I'm watching Daniel's videos, I often find the right next move by instinct, even though I haven't played out the lines in my head, and know virtually no chess theory. I don't think you can get to GM level without being able to calculate more than one or two moves per line, but I found a Reddit thread with a FIDE (1900's) with Aphantasia, so I'm hopeful.