Blindfold Chess

Three ways to play blind

Empty board keeps the squares and hides the pieces. Tap the square your piece is on, then tap where it goes, or drag it there. You still have to remember where everything is. Peek mode is the same, with a few peeks per game that show the pieces for three seconds. Use them when you lose track. No board at all is true blindfold chess: you type your moves in notation and read the bot’s replies, nothing else.

How to type moves

Use standard algebraic notation: e4 for a pawn move, Nf3 for a knight, Bxe5 for a bishop capture, O-O to castle kingside and e8=Q to promote. Lower case works too, and so do square-to-square moves like g1f3. If a move isn’t legal, we tell you why, without giving the position away.

Tips for your first blindfold games

• Start against the easiest bot and with the board visible. Winning isn’t the point at first; keeping track is.
• Say the moves out loud, or switch on "Read moves aloud" so the bot’s replies are spoken.
• Every few moves, walk through your pieces in your head: king, queen, rooks, bishops, knights, pawns.
• Keep games simple. Trade pieces when you can: fewer pieces means less to remember.

Why train blindfold?

Calculation is blindfold chess in miniature. Every time you think "if I go here, he goes there", you are moving pieces you can’t see. Training without the board builds that skill directly, and players who practice it often find they calculate deeper and with fewer mistakes when the pieces are back. If you are new to visualization, warm up with our Board Vision trainer first.