Blindfold chess

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blindfold chess is a way to play chess, whereby play is conducted without the players having sight of the positions of the pieces, or any physical contact with them. Moves are communicated via a recognized chess notation. Considered miraculous for centuries, it is now accepted that any strong player today can play at least one game blindfolded.^[1] In simultaneous blindfold play, an intermediary usually relays the moves between the players.

1 Before chess
2 Early history
3 20th century history
4 Health concerns
5 Modern status
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Before chess

The first written commentary to a predecessor of blindfold chess appears in Buddha's mild rebuke to monks.

"Monks were--as some ascetics--addicted to such idle pursuits such as eight row or ten row chess, chess in the air (mental chess), hopscotch, spillikins, dicing, ball games, guessing letters, hand pictures, guessing thoughts, mimicking deformities, playing with toy ploughs; the ascetic Gotama refrains from such idle pursuits".^[2]

Of course, chess as we know it was not invented until several centuries later.^[3]

[edit] 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. 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. The first known blindfold event in Europe took place in Florence in 1266.^[1] The great French player Philidor was able 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 6 wins and 2 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 played in Dundee 1867 six simultaneous blindfold games (three wins, three draws). It was seen by these masters as a good source of income.

[edit] 20th century history

As time went by the records for blindfold exhibitions increased. In 1900 Pillsbury played 20 games simultaneously in Philadelphia; not long after having attempted the unusual feat of playing fifteen chess and fifteen checkers games simultaneously (the record for blindfold checkers being 28 simultaneous games). The Czech player Richard Réti and Russian World Champion Alexander Alekhine were the next to significantly further the record, with Alekhine playing 28 players in February of 1925 with the impressive result of 22 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses. In the same year, Réti bettered this record by playing 29 players simultaneously in São Paulo and amusingly commented on his poor memory after leaving his briefcase behind after the event.

George Koltanowski set the world's blindfold record on 20 September 1937, in Edinburgh, by playing 34 chess games simultaneously while blindfolded, winning 24 games and losing 10, over a period of 13 hours. The record was included in the Guinness Book of Records and is generally accepted as the world record to this day.^[1] Later, both Miguel Najdorf and János Flesch claimed to have broken that record, but their efforts were not properly monitored the way that Koltanowski's was. Najdorf's first record in Rosario, Argentina was against 40 opponents (+36 =1 -3)^[4] 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. He increased this record to 45 opponents in São Paulo in 1947, with the result of 39 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses.^[5] However, he had access to the scoresheets, and there were multiple opponents per board.^[1] Koltanowski claimed that he could have managed 100 games under those conditions.^[6]

The last increase in the record was claimed by the Hungarian Janos Flesch in Budapest in 1960, playing 52 opponents and winning 31 games, with 3 draws and 18 losses. However, this record attempt has been 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.^[6]

There have been no serious attempt to increase the record since then, due to lack of interest in mere numbers.^[7]

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.^[7] Koltanowski's specialty was conducting a Blindfold Knight's Tour on boards of up to 192 squares.

[edit] 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 1930 in the USSR as they were deemed to be a health hazard. Mikhail Botvinnik also warned against it. Blindfold players have reported that it is more tiring than regular play, even if faster time controls are used.^[1]

[edit] Modern status

Today there are Blindfold Chess Tournaments held throughout the year, with the highest profile event being the Melody Amber Tournament, held in Monte Carlo. This event is partly funded by the billionaire Correspondence Chess Champion Joop van Oosterom and attracts many of the world's chess elite to compete in unique circumstances. 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 2006.