Blindfold Chess Trainer

What is blindfold chess?

Blindfold chess is playing chess without looking at the pieces. The blindfold chess trainer on this page lets you play a full blindfold chess game against a chess engine that runs in your browser, with the board hidden. You type each move, and the computer replies in text with its own move and a plain description, such as "knight from g8 to f6". You can choose one of five strength levels, so you can start easy and work up.

The board stays hidden, so you have to keep the whole position in your memory. If you get lost, you can peek at the board or list where the pieces stand. Every peek is counted, so you can see how your play improves over time.

How to use the blindfold chess trainer

1. Choose the computer level and your colour, then press New game. If you play Black, the computer moves first.
2. Type your move in the box and press Enter. Standard notation (e4, Nf3, exd5, O-O, e8=Q) and from-to squares (e2e4, g1f3, e7e8q) both work, and lower-case piece letters are accepted.
3. Read the computer's reply in the line above the box and in the status line.
4. Open the move list to check the game so far. Use Peek at the board or Where are the pieces? only when you need them; the board hides again after your next move.
5. Keep playing until the game ends. The trainer tells you whether it is checkmate, stalemate, a draw by repetition, the fifty-move rule or insufficient material.

Type O-O for kingside and O-O-O for queenside castling (0-0 and 0-0-0 work too), or the king's from-to squares such as e1g1. For a promotion, type e8=Q, e8Q or e7e8q. A lower-case b is read as a pawn move first, so bxc3 is a pawn capture. If no such pawn move exists, it is read as a bishop move, so after 1.e4 e5, typing bc4 plays Bc4. Illegal moves are rejected with a message. Copy the move list if you want to keep it.

Questions and answers

How long does it take to learn blindfold chess?

There is no fixed time, because it depends on how much you practise and how well you already calculate. Start at level 1 with the move list open, and move up only when you can finish a game with no peeks.

Can I play blindfold chess online?

Yes. The blindfold chess trainer runs in your browser and lets you play a full game against a chess engine with the board hidden. You play against the computer, not another person.

What is mental chess?

Mental chess is another name for blindfold chess, and blind chess is also used. In each case, you keep the position in your head rather than looking at the pieces.

How strong is the computer?

Level 1 makes many mistakes and is meant for beginners. Level 5 searches deepest and is the hardest, but it is not a top engine.

What does the peek counter do?

It counts every peek at the board or the piece list, so you can measure your progress over time. It is only there for that purpose.

Is my game saved?

No. The game exists only in this page, and reloading it starts a new game. Copy the move list before you leave if you want to keep it.

Related chess tools

• Chess coordinates trainer — use it to learn the square names before you play without a board.
• Board vision trainer — use it to practise square colours and knight routes if you often lose track of pieces.
• Play chess against the computer — use it for a normal game where you can see the board.
• Chess notation — use it to learn the letters and symbols the trainer reads.
• Chess puzzles — use them to practise finding good moves in set positions.
• Knight's tour puzzle — use it to build familiarity with how a knight moves across the board.

Open-source components used by this tool: chess.js (BSD-2-Clause); js-chess-engine (MIT); ChessPieces font (Noto Sans Symbols 2 subset) (SIL OFL 1.1).