Blindfold Chess

During the 18th century, when Philidor played two blindfold games of chess simultaneously, eyewitnesses were asked to swear affidavits attesting to this remarkable feat. In the two and a half centuries following, blindfold chess - the art of playing without sight of the board or pieces - progressed to the extent that today's champions can play more than 30 games simultaneously.This history discusses blindfold chess from its earliest known instances through the present day. It describes the personalities and achievements of some of blindfold chess' greatest players - including Paulsen, Morphy, Blackburne, Pillsbury, Reti, Alekhine, Najdorf and Fine as well as present-day champions such as Anand, Kramnik and Morogevich. Over 444 games scores (some never before published), peppered with diagrams and annotations, are presented. Hints for playing blindfold chess, the benefits of playing blindfold, and a readable summary of psychological research on blindfold chess ability are also included. Appendices contain a table of world-record blindfold simultaneous exhibitions since the 18th century and proposed rules for serious simultaneous blindfold displays.