This is the case with postcard strongest players in Paris and BLINDFOLD CHESS and even email play but changed won with a resounding score of Dr. A.Chatterjee <[email protected]> with the advent of server play as 6 wins and 2 draws. the graphical board appears on hat did the great actual blindfolding is not a the computer screen as soon as players Philidor, requirement – the master may you access the opponents move. WAlekhine, Najdorf and simply have his back turned Good OTB players too, are Koltanowski have in common? away from an opponent sitting skilled visualisers as well. They were all virtuoso blindfold at the board, or more usually, he Indeed the process of playing a exponents. is in a separate room with normal OTB game consists of Though chess is not often neither chess board, pen and looking far ahead of the current thought of as a spectator sport, paper or any electronic device. position albeit with the board in strong chess players, posses an The moves are relayed by a sight, but not moving the pieces. innate talent that can often result neutral person. As with the game of chess in spectacular displays. Child itself, blindfold chess is thought prodigies getting the better of to have had its beginnings in veterans, simultaneous displays, India. However, the first memory feats and blindfold performer of this feat to gain chess are some of the world wide prominence was the demonstrations that can enthral African judge Sa'id bin Jubair, an audience. around 700AD. Harry Nelson Pillsbury (see Of these, Blindfold Chess, Players of the romantic era Forgotten Heroes: Harry Nelson especially the playing of who excelled at blindfold chess Pillsbury , by Anil K.Anand in the AICCF Bulletin simultaneous blindfold games, is include Philidor, Morphy, , May 2005, p.19) perhaps the most amazing and Paulsen, Pillsbury, Reti, is attributed with the memory surely the most taxing to the Alekhine. In more modern times: feat of learning 29 difficult player. Najdorf and the lesser known words/phrases before his usual In blindfold chess, the master Janos Flesch and George exhibition of 20 SB games and plays one or several games Koltanowski both of whom then repeating these words, in without sight of the board bettered Najdorf’s record for the both forward and backward against opponent(s) who are maximum number of order, after completing the playing without this handicap. simultaneously played blindfold blindfold games. He was able to (If both opponents do not have games. repeat the words again the next sight of the board, strictly Correspondence chess players Philidor, the French master day! speaking this is called mental are, at some level, blindfold and musician, contributed much Alekhine toyed with chess, though many people use players, in that, the visualisation to chess theory. He was also one blindfold play for a while and the term blindfold chess even for of the position takes place at of the earliest blindfold players – even wrote about the enormous this variant). once, as soon as the postman able to take on three games exhaustion it produced. When Although the word blindfold delivers the opponent’s simultaneously. In 1858, Paul he played 28 games in February immediately conjures up the postcard. Indeed some CC Morphy played a SB 1925 (22 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses), vision of a person whose eyes players, especially in the (simultaneous blindfold) one couldn’t imagine that his are covered with a black cloth, opening stages even reply exhibition match against the 8 record would be broken the without setting up the pieces. same year by Richard Reti’s simultaneously. Earlier, in 1937 opponent. The winners/joint culminates in the endgame. On display of 29 games at Sao Paulo. Koltanowski had played 34 winners have been: Vladimir the other hand there are more In 1947, the Argentine player, opponents in Edinburgh, Kramnik (1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, recent games from the Melody Miguel Najdorf created a lasting Scotland, scoring +20, -0, =14. 2004, 2007), Viswanathan Anand Amber blindfold such as record of 45 SB games (39 wins, 4 Some like to think of this as the (1994, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006), Kramnik – Topalov (also Anand draws and 2 losses). This record official record as Najdorf’s 45 SB Alexander Morozevich (2002, – Morozevich) which equally was broken in 1960 by games in 1947 did not have the 2004, 2006), Alexei Shirov (1998, demonstrate the greatness of the Hungarian player Janos Flesch strict monitoring that was 2000), Anatoly Karpov (1995), human mind in conceptualising who played 52 SB games at imposed here and as already Ljubomir Ljubojević (1993) and blindfold on the arena of 64- Budapest (31 wins, 3 draws and remarked, Janos Flesch’s 52- Vassily Ivanchuk (1992). Not squares. We give below these 18 losses). But it is controversial game effort in 1960 was surprisingly, the kings are two games and leave the reader because, according to observers, controversial. Vladimir Kramnik (6 times to decide which game he Flesch was allowed to verbally George Koltanowski (1903 - winner/joint winner) and considers better. Although recount the scores of the ongoing 2000) will always be Viswanathan Anand (5 times). Alekhine’s opponent was an games. The same year, George remembered for his prowess in amateur he was playing with full Koltanowski of USA played 56 blindfold chess and blindfold sight of the board. Moreover opponents with a score of (+50, conduct of the knight’s tour on Alekhine had several blindfold =0, -6). The exhibition lasted 9 boards of up to 192 squares. Our games going on simultaneously. hours. member and knight’s tour Kramnik in his game against specialist Awani Kumar (see Topalov, Monte Carlo 2003, ‘Awani Kumar In The Limca Book faced a super GM. But here both Of Records’, AICCF Bulletin, players were blindfold and it August 2006, p.14) would be was a one-to-one game, not a pleased with this latter talent. simultaneous. Blindfold chess is not a forgotten art. Today, several W: Alexander Alekhine blindfold tournaments are held B: N Schwartz throughout the year, the best London 1926 known among them being the King’s Indian Defence, E62 annual Melody Amber Tournament at Monaco with a 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nc6 prize fund of $288,000. Our 7.d5 Na5 8.Qd3 b6 9.Nd4 Nb7 members would be interested to 10.Nc6 Qd7 11.O-O a5 12.b3 know that the main financer of Nc5 13.Qc2 Bb7 14.h3 Rae8 this event and billionaire chess 15.a3 Bxc6 16.dxc6 Qc8 17.b4 What is the record for the aficionado is none other than There are many blindfold games axb4 18.axb4 Na6 19.Ra4 Nb8 maximum number of Joop van Oosterom, World showing brilliant combinations. 20.b5 h6 21.Ra7 e5 22.Kh2 Kh7 simultaneous blindfold games? Correspondence Chess Of these, the game Alekhine – 23.f4 Re7 24.fxe5 Rxe5 25.Bf4 Not the 56-game performance of Champion 2003-2004. The dozen Schwartz (London, 1926) stands Ree8 26.Nd5 Nxd5 27.Bxd5 Koltanowski in 1960, for here he or so players who are invited, out for a combination lasting Qd8 28.h4 Qe7 29.e3 Kh8 actually played the games have to play one rapid and one more than 10 moves that starts 30.Kg2 f5 31.Re1 Kh7 32.e4 consecutively at a rate of 10 blindfold game against the same in the middle game and Be5 33.exf5 gxf5 seconds a move and not Kf6 49.Kf3 Ke5 50.Ke3 h5 The knight is trapped. However, 31...Nc6 32.Rc1 e5 33.Nxc6 51.Bc2 Kf6 52.Kf4 Kg7 53.Kxf5 black picks up 2 pawns and Bxc6 34.Rxc6 Rxc6 35.Bb6 Kh6 54.Kf4 1-0 there are complications followed by 36.Rc1 wins Nxc2 23.Kxc2 Bxe4+ 24.Kb3 32.Bxe5 Bxb5+ 33.Kxb5 Rc5+ Ba8 25.Ba7 Qc7 26.Qb6 34.Kb6 W: Vladimir Kramnik Naturally, white ahead in White throws his king into the B: Veselin Topalov material, forces simplification attack... a mating net is being Amber Blindfold 2003 Qxb6 27.Bxb6 h6 woven Sicilian Scheveningen, B54 Rxe5 35.Rc1 Rxa5 Is this a saving resource? 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 35...Rxg5 36.Rc7+ Ke8 37.Nc6 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 Nf6 and the coffin is sealed 7.f4 a6 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.O-O-O Bd7 36.Rc7+! 10.Nb3 Rc8 11.Kb1 36.Kxa5 hxg5 and black can Let us take a look at the position. The balance between attack and fight on White has a considerable space 36...Kd8 37.Rfc1 Rc5 th defence is best seen in a game advantage, a rook on the 7 rank with opposite side castling. Here Of course 37...Ra8 38.Kb7 and a useful pin along the e-file. Kramnik prepares himself 38.R1xc5 dxc5 Black is cramped and his knight against black's Nb4 instead of is still on its home square. going all out with 11.g4 34.c5!! 11…b5 12.Bd3 Nb4 13.g4 Bc6 The beginning of the 14.g5 Nd7 combination... a pawn thrust After 14...Nxe4!? 15.Bxe4 d5 breaking through for the c6-pawn 28.Nxb5! Kramnik says he found after the to march towards the queening A player with a more pragmatic game by computer analysis the square "incredibly strong" move 16.g6!! style might have just continued bxc5 35.b6 Rc8 36.Qc3 16.g6 dxe4 17.Qh3! and white 28.h4 which Fritz evaluates as +- Computers tend to play 36.Bxe5 has a good attack.