I've heard that all the stronger chess players (GMs and the like) are naturally able to play blindfold as a consequence of their chess visualization skills. What's the minimum rating where this happens - can 2300s play blindfolded? 2000s?
And also, if I train to be able to play blindfolded will my rating increase?
2300, I think as long as you can lyft 850 lbs you should be good for picking up any chest without seeing.
I played a three-board blindfold simul against the three top players at Mount Allison University back when I was around 1900 (CFC OTB rating). I won all three games.
I've played my first blindfolded games against players who really aren't that good at chess and pulled off my first win this weekend. My chess.com rating is 1400 here so I really don't think you have to be a good player to play blindfolded- you just have to have played the game enough to be able to "chunk" where pieces are. That being said my ability to play blindfolded is about 500-600 elo below my actual chess.com rating- but its still a fun party trick nonetheless.
I'm around 1600. I play at around 1000 level blindfolded. It takes a bit of practice but not that hard to grasp it. I started off able to play 5-10 moves blindfolded, then slowly push the boundaries until I was able to play full length games in a week or two. The trick is to constantly refresh yourself on where all the pieces are when your opponent is thinking.
in my opinion, you have to be strong enough that you don't scream "mommy" the second you are blindfolded
This is an ancient thread but im a 600 rated player and I seemed to have developed maladaptive daydreaming of chess games and I would attribute that to being why I can with a little effort play blindfolded chess and be able to remember the entire game offhand while playing(I forget when I take the blindfold off lol)
I can imagine pieces and board decently, I just honestly cannot remember the damn notation of squares!
Any player can play blindfold. Most of classical time control calculations are like blindfold. Most chess players can play blindfold when they lose their eyesight. It is easier than learning braille.
Played my first blindfold games at 13 or 14 years old when I was like a 1500 rated chess player. It is related to brain skills more than chess skills. You need to have a strong visual memory. When I can't remember something I saw, like a book author or title, I try to see it again in my mind, like in a dream, and usually it works.