by Eliot Hearst & John Knott, 445pp. Hardcover (2009 McFarland)

 

History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records, and Important Games, with 62 photographs, diagrams, appendices, bibliography, indexes (7" x 10")

 

During the 18th century, when Philidor played two blindfold games of chess simultaneously, eyewitnesses were asked to swear affidavits attesting to this remarkable feat. Since then, blindfold chess—the art of playing without sight of the board or pieces—has produced some of the greatest feats of human memory, progressing to the extent that the world record is 45 simultaneous blindfold games.

This work provides the first extensive coverage of blindfold chess from its earliest known instances through the present day. It describes the personalities and achievements of some of blindfold chess’s greatest players—including Paulsen, Morphy, Blackburne, Zukertort, Pillsbury, Réti, Alekhine, Koltanowski, Najdorf and Fine, as well as present-day grandmasters such as Anand, Kramnik and Morozevich, who play in regular tournaments with all players blindfolded. Including some never before published, 444 games scores are presented, peppered with diagrams and annotations. 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 offer a chronology of world-record simultaneous blindfold performances since the 18th century, and proposed rules for serious simultaneous blindfold play.

 

About the Authors
A United States Olympic Chess Team captain in 1962, Eliot Hearst is a U.S. Senior Master. A former columnist for Chess Life, he has written extensively about the psychology of sports and games, computer chess, learning, memory and conflict. A distinguished professor emeritus at Indiana University, Hearst currently serves as an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Arizona.

 

John Knott has written numerous legal articles, has a nonfiction book under way, and is a consultant at the London head office of an international law firm. Each author has had a particular interest in blindfold chess and has studied the subject for more than 30 years.