Blindfold chess, also known as sans voir, is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces and do not touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces. Moves are communicated via a recognized chess notation.
Blindfold chess was considered miraculous for centuries but now there is greater recognition of people who can keep track of more than one simultaneous blindfolded game. In simultaneous blindfold play, an intermediary usually relays the moves between the players.
Early history
Blindfold chess was first played quite early on in the history of chess, with perhaps the first game being played by Sa'id bin Jubair (665–714) in the Middle East. In Europe, playing chess blindfolded became popular as a means of handicapping a chess master when facing a weaker opponent, or of simply displaying one's superior abilities.
H. J. R. Murray in his book A History of Chess recorded another type of unseen chess: two Central Asian horsemen riding side by side playing chess by calling chess moves to each other without using a board or pieces.
The first known blindfold event in Europe took place in Florence in 1266. In 1783 the great French player André Danican Philidor demonstrated his ability to play up to three blindfold games simultaneously with great success, with newspapers highlighting his achievement, having taught himself to visualize the board while in bed at night when he had trouble sleeping.
Paul Morphy held in 1858 a blindfold exhibition against the eight strongest players in Paris with the stunning result of six wins and two draws. Other early masters of blindfold chess were Louis Paulsen, Joseph Henry Blackburne (he played up to 16 simultaneous blindfold games), and the first world champion Wilhelm Steinitz, who in 1867 played six simultaneous blindfold games in Dundee, winning three and drawing three. It was seen by these masters as a good source of income. One of the first female players that is known for having played blindfold in the 1870s is Ellen Gilbert.
As time went by the records for blindfold exhibitions increased. In 1900 Harry Nelson Pillsbury played 20 games simultaneously in Philadelphia; not long after attempting the unusual feat of playing 15 chess and 15 checkers games simultaneously (the record for blindfold checkers being 28 simultaneous games). The Czechoslovak player Richard Réti and Russian World Champion Alexander Alekhine were the next to significantly further the record.
20th century history
In 1924, at the Alamac Hotel of New York, Alekhine played 26 simultaneous blindfold games against very strong opponents (Isaac Kashdan and Hermann Steiner among them), with the score of 16 wins, 5 losses, and 5 draws. This was probably the strongest of any blindfold exhibitions ever held. The next year in February in Paris he faced 28 teams of four players each, with the impressive result of 22 wins, 3 losses, and 3 draws. In the same year, Réti bettered this record by playing 29 players simultaneously in São Paulo, and commented on his poor memory after leaving his briefcase behind after the event.
On July 16, 1934, in Chicago, Alekhine set the new world record by playing 32 blindfold games, with 19 wins, 4 losses, and 9 draws. Edward Lasker was the referee for this event.