If you have not heard, Timur Gareyev, the Blindfold King recently broke the world blindfold record by playing 48 simultaneous games of chess. This is such an accomplishment that the Guiness Book of Records has officially recognized the feat.He did this all without ever looking at a board. This got me thinking that in order to get really good at chess, this is a skill that I need to develop.
I am currently rated 2120 USCF, chasing a National Master title and looking to become a very strong player. Obviously, for any player below master strength the #1 way they can improve their game is through tactical and calculation practice. I would recommend that any student below 2000 ELO should study tactics daily and through this will find the largest improvement in their game.
I do not know whether being able to play blindfold chess will improve my game; their is still much work I need to do on positional play, endings and opening theory. BUT, I can only postulate that the ability to see the board without looking at it will help me visualize future positions and greatly improve my calculation skills.
This is why I have taken on an alter ego: The Blindfold Padawan to learn the Jedi skills of lower the blast shield and really seeing the chessboard in a way that I have never seen before.
Here is my first win! For the record I am currently 1-4 so I will show you some serious blunders I have made in future posts. Please ignore the time stamps as I figured out too late how to remove them.