INVISIBLE CHESS IV
Blindfold Chess Training: A Newcomer's Guide
I know what to do and I go an execute
- Usain Bolt, athlete
Welcome to week four of the beginners programme. I've got some practice exercises facing the knight move - a notoriously tricky piece to visualise even with site of the board.
Before that let's take a quick look at how we can help ourselves get more out of our training routines by trying to push the odds further into our favour that we'll actually get the work done.
WHY “ANY TIME ANY PLACE ANY WHERE” CAN ACTUALLY BE A PROBLEM
One of the things I noticed when I started reading biographies of elite athletes, and paying attention to what they said in interview, is how much they talk about 'executing'. This is the concept that it's not enough to develop skills, we must also deliver on the day of performance; it's not enough to have a training programme and know what we should be doing - we must also put the work in.
One of the problems of delivering on training intentions in chess is not having enough time to actually do the work we want to do. One of the reasons why I got into blindfold visualisation in the first place was that it gave me more opportunities to squeeze more chess into my week. Being able to play any time, any place, anywhere, with no need for a chess set or even a phone was a great advantage.
The downside of this flexibility is, paradoxically, the flexibility. Often, the more options you have for getting something done, the more time you have to do it, the less likely it is to get done. The problem is flexibility also gives more reasons NOT to do something. OK I could do the work now, but I could always do it later so I'll do this other thing now. And when later comes there'll be something else to do instead ... but that's alright isn’t it, because we can always do our thing tomorrow. But then tomorrow comes and on and on we go not actually getting things done.
The solution is to mix flexibility with consistency. Find one place in your day when you can do some regular - if brief - blindfold work and make that your blindfold time every day, Maybe instead of one place for 10 minutes you might find two or three places of a couple of minutes each.
At the beginning of last year, I realised that whilst I was waiting for my toaster to get to work on my bagel in the mornings and when I was waiting for the kettle to boil throughout the day were both ideal times to do some blindfold work.
The Toaster and Kettle Chess Academy was born.
These may or may not be good times for you. To be honest they probably won't be - but you'll have something similar. Find the time and use it.
WEEK FOUR EXERCISES
This week we're going to be focusing on knights. There are 8 exercises to choose from. Pick any one of them that catches your eye and begin with that one. Try to get in 5-10 minutes a day for up to five days of the next week.
One little tip that's really worth bearing in mind as you go through these exercises - every time the knight move it should change the colour of the square it's standing on. If it doesn't - something's gone wrong.
Each exercise involves one knight and no other pieces.
EXERCISE 1: KNIGHTS IN THE CENTER
Starting Square: d5
Aim: work out all the squares that the knight can move to in one turn. How many are there?
EXERCISE 2: KNIGHTS ON THE RIM
Starting Square: a4
Aim: work out all the squares that the knight can move to in one turn. How many are there?
EXERCISE: 3 KNIGHTS IN THE CORNER
Starting Square: a8
Aim: work out all the squares that the knight can move to in one turn. How many are there?
EXERCISE 4: To the Rims and Back - A
Starting Square: e1
Aim: manoeuvre the knight to any square on the h-file, then on to any square on the 8th rank, then to any square on the a-file and then back to any square on the 1st rank.
EXERCISE 5: To the Rims and Back - B
Starting Square: e1
Aim: same as exercise one - but go clockwise around the board (a-file, 8th rank, h-file, back to first rank). I think you should be able to do it in 9 moves. Am I right?
How many moves did it take you? Can you do it faster?
EXERCISE 6: Corner to Corner - A
Starting Square: a1
Aim: Manoeuvre the knight to h1. (can you get there in 5 moves?)
EXERCISE 7: Corner to Corner - B
Starting Square: h1
Aim: Manoeuvre the knight to a8. What's the fewest moves it takes to get there?
EXERCISE 8: The Grand Tour
Staring Square b1:
Aim: Get to the knight to the following squares
b1 - c3 - g1 - f3 - g8 - f6 - b8 - c6 and back to b1
as quickly as possible.
NEXT WEEK
Next week we’ll be taking it up a notch in terms of the training exercises and I’ll also have some thoughts on what consistency looks like.
Have a good week everybody.