How to Learn Blindfolded Chess

Learn algebraic chess notation. There are other forms of notation; this is the one accepted by the international chess organization FIDE. To write chess notation, indicate the piece and the square you are moving to.

Each piece is abbreviated as the first letter in its name, except for the Knight, which is notated as N instead of K. The pawn is abbreviated as nothing; if there is no abbreviation, a pawn is assumed. The square is indicated by a number one through eight, starting on the player's first horizontal row and going up each row until the eighth row at the other end of the board. For example, K5 would indicate you are moving the King to the fifth row.

Memorize the chess board at all times. Players must make a mental map of every piece on the board, keeping track of both players' pieces. With practice, visualizing a chess board is no more complicated than visualizing a member of the opposite sex. If this seems too difficult, remember that George Koltanowski played 34 games simultaneously in 1937, and that his record was broken in 1960 when J. Flesch played 52 games.

Purchase software that supports "vision-free" chess playing. Most of the newer softwares have this option, including Fritz, Chessmaster and Rybka.

Set the engine strength to the appropriate level. If you're a beginner, The Chess World recommends starting at around 400 elo. Increase the level by a small amount each time you play.

After practicing on a computer, play against another player. This version is played with one chessboard by two players and a third person to make the moves on the board for both players. Players take turns calling their moves out loud for the controller to make for them. The controller must make sure a player hears the other player's move before continuing.