See the board in your head. Five short drills that build the visualisation strong players use to calculate, from naming square colours to solving puzzles with the pieces hidden.
Why train blindfold?
Every time you calculate, you move pieces in your head. Blindfold drills make that picture sharper, so you see more moves ahead and blunder less.
10 minutes a day
Do two or three drills a day, before your puzzles. Start on Easy, and move up when you score well three times in a row.
For every level
Kids start with square colours and knight routes. Club players use Follow the Moves and Blindfold Puzzles to stretch their calculation.
Choose a drill
Five steps to a board in your head
Level:
Square Colours
A square name appears. Is it a light or a dark square? Answer as many as you can before time runs out. Keyboard: L light, D dark.
Score
0
Time
60
Your best
0
e4
Knight Routes
A knight stands on one square. What is the fewest number of moves it needs to reach the target? Work it out without a board. Ten questions per round.
Question
0/10
Correct
0
Your best
0
Press Start.
Remember the Position
Study a real position from a game. When the time is up the pieces disappear, and you answer questions about it: what stands where, which pieces attack and defend. Tap the board when a question asks for a square.
Round score
–
Perfect rounds
0
Press Start to see a position.
Follow the Moves
A real opening is played from the starting position, one move at a time, without showing the pieces. Keep the position in your head, then answer questions about where things stand. On Medium and Hard the board is hidden, and on Hard you only see the latest move.
Board hidden. Picture it!
Round score
–
Perfect rounds
0
Press Start. The moves will begin from the normal starting position.
Blindfold Puzzles
Memorise the position, then the pieces vanish. Find the winning move: tap the piece's square and then where it goes, or type the move (like Nf7+). Your opponent's replies are announced. Each peek costs a point.