Blindfold Chess - the book

[Aris Marghetis]

Blindfold Chess - the book

August 21, 2019

A book has recently come out in Czech:

Title: Resme naslepo!
Author: Kanovsky, David
Publisher: Self-Edition
Paperback, 44 pages
Year: 2019

Publisher’s Blurb

(Let's Solve Blindfolded!). The book is intended for intermediate and stronger players. It brings contains 200 examples, which you will see first only in notation and then in a small diagram form. Solution at the end. Author writes in the preface: To solve examples blindfolded is, in my humble opinion, an excellent way to train tactics, calculate variations, and check the overall spatial vision of a chessboard. IM David Dejf Kanovsky is a strong master and successful trainer.

________

I don’t know how successful this method will be. I shall give three examples in English algebraic and supply the diagrams tomorrow and the answers on Friday.

No. 1

White: Kf5, Qc7, Rf4, Ne2
Black: Kd5, Ra4, Be5
Mate in two, White moves

No. 111

White: Kg1, Qc6, Rc1, Re1, a4, d5, f2, g3, h2
Black: Kg8, Qg5, Rd7, Rd8, a7, b6, f7, g7, g6
Combination, White moves

No. 199

White: Ka8, Qb3, b7
Black: Ka6, Qc6
Study, White moves

Quite honestly, I cannot visualize these on the boards. If I were in Mr. Kanovsky’s school, I would get tossed out.
Good luck to anyone who attempts these. I shall keep the book as a curiosity.

Thanks for posting this Wayne. Is the book readable by someone who doesn't read Czech? And where did you get it?

Thanks!

[Wayne Komer]

Blindfold Chess - the book

August 22, 2019

Aris,

The book has a two-page preface in Czech and that is all. The first half has the positions in algebraic notation, the second half has small diagrams of these and the solutions.

The book costs under $10. I get most of my books in Russian, Czech and other more obscure languages from:

http://www.chessbookshop.com/index.asp

Naturally, I recommend books in English and French from Strategy Games!

[Wayne Komer]

Blindfold Chess - the book

August 23, 2019

Three examples from Resme naslepo! diagrammed.

Solutions tomorrow:

No. 1, White mates in two






No. 111, Combination, White moves





No. 199, Study, White moves and wins





Van Vliet, 1888

[Tom O'Donnell]

In first diagram the b/e5 is black.

[Wayne Komer]

Blindfold Chess - the book

August 23, 2019

Thanks, Tom, correction made.

WK

[Wayne Komer]

Blindfold Chess - the book

August 24, 2019

Solutions to the Blindfold Problems

No. 1

1. Rd4 Rxd4 (1….Bxd4 2. Nf4#) 2. Nc3#


No. 111

1. Qxd7! Rxd7 2. Re8+ Kh7 3. Rcc8

(Alekhine-Colle, 1925)


No. 199

1. Qb4 Qh1 2. Qa3+ Kb6 3. Qb2+ Kc7 4. Qh2+ Qxh2 5. b8=Q+

(Van Vliet, 1888)

[Hans Jung]

https://www.chess.com/article/view/blindfold-chess Finally a good writer weighs in on Koltanowski's blindfold exploits.

[Hans Jung]

https://en.chessbase.com/post/using-...our-to-impress the knights tour blindfolded Give it a try - guaranteed will keep your mind sharp!

[Hans Jung]

Magnus Carlsen played a 5 board blindfold simul on Friday October 9, 2020 between rounds of the Altibox Norway tournament. He had trouble having to pause and start over (twice!?) but did win all of his games. Perhaps that contributed to his next day's loss to GM Duda from Poland. Certainly no one else from the top GM's would attempt to do such a thing. (multiboard blindfold simul in the midst of a top tournament).

[Hans Jung]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/onlin...orts-1.5773163 Midway thru the article about live streaming by Canadians it mentions blindfold chess, a big part of promoting chess and entertaining the online public.

[Stephen Wright]

Magnus Carlsen played a 5 board blindfold simul on Friday October 9, 2020 between rounds of the Altibox Norway tournament. He had trouble having to pause and start over (twice!?) but did win all of his games. Perhaps that contributed to his next day's loss to GM Duda from Poland. Certainly no one else from the top GM's would attempt to do such a thing. (multiboard blindfold simul in the midst of a top tournament).

Mentioned much earlier in this thread is Pillsbury's blindfold simul on the rest day of the Hanover 1902 tournament where he set a new world record at 21 boards (he finished second to Janowski in the main event):

https://forum.chesstalk.com/forum/ch...9333#post29333

[Wayne Komer]

Blindfold Chess - the book

November 7, 2020

In John Donaldson’s The Unknown Bobby Fischer, he cites 1957 as the year of The Big Breakthrough saying Bobby started the year slowly but had an incredible summer, metamorphosing from promising master to one of the country’s best. In autumn, he made the jump from one of the country’s best to national champion.

Here is one example of how fast Fischer was improving. On June 13, 1957, the Manhattan Chess Club celebrated its victory in the Met League by holding a special exhibition by Reshevsky. He played blindfold against ten strong players, one after another, at ten seconds a move He won six (from Gresser, Guala, Rowe, Saxon and Shipman) and lost four (Heitner, Bisguier, Feuerstein and Fischer). Less than six months later, Bobby was national champion and not taking odds from anyone!

Blindfold simul, Manhattan CC
New York, New York
June 13, 1957
Reshevsky, Samuel – Fischer, Robert J.
E91 King’s Indian

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.d4 O-O 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 c6 7.O-O a6 8.Re1 b5 9.b3 b4 10.e5 dxe5 11.dxe5 bxc3 12.exf6 Bxf6 13.Bh6 Qxd1 14.Raxd1 Re8 15.Bd3 Nd7 16.Be4 Nc5 17.Bxc6 Bf5 18.g4 Bxg4 19.Kg2 Bf5 20.Bxa8 Rxa8 21.Nd4 Nd3 22.Nxf5 Nxe1+ 23.Rxe1 gxf5 24.Rd1 e5 25.c5 Rc8 26.b4 f4 27.Kf3 Be7 28.Ke4 Rc6 29.Rg1+ Rg6 30.Rxg6+ fxg6 31.Kd3 Kf7 32.Kxc3 g5 33.c6 Ke6 34.Kc4 Kd6 35.b5 axb5+ 36.Kxb5 e4 37.Kc4 Bf6 38.h4 f3 39.hxg5 e3 40.Bf8+ Be7 41.Bxe7+ Kxe7 42.c7 Kd7 0-1

Position after Fischer’s 34….Kd6

[Hans Jung]

Blindfold enthusiasts are encouraged to watch The Queen's Gambit on Netflix. Seeing those chess pieces on the ceiling (amazing visualization!) sent tingles down my spine. All I could do was visualize ordinary black and white Staunton pieces.

[Wayne Komer]

Blindfold Chess - the book

Feb. 6, 2021

Well, I thought I had seen everything but now blindfold online!

Liem plays blindfold!

Vietnamese star Liem Quang Le takes on chess24 Premium members while talking about his moves on Sunday after Round 2 of the Opera Euro Rapid ends.

The show will start at 21:00 CET - set a reminder to be there and maybe you'll be picked to play him!

https://chess24.com/en/live/video/bl...-liem-quang-le

[Hans Jung]

Hikaru Nakamura has been taking on up to 5 opponents simultaneously blindfold online for a while, but I agree seeing Liem do it would be a spectacle. Back in 2012 I played Liem at a party at Susan Polgars house and he allowed me to play anything. We played several games and he found creative ways to beat me every time. An amazing talent with great sight (without eyes) of the board.