A Game of Genius or a Path to Lunacy? The Truth About Blindfold Chess
Have you ever heard the old stories about chess driving people mad? From tortured grandmasters to wild tales of hallucinations at the board, the game has long carried a reputation for pushing minds past their limits. Some countries even took the fear so seriously that they banned simultaneous blindfold chess exhibitions—Russia being the most famous example—believing such displays could unravel a player’s sanity.
That caught my attention. After all, we’re constantly told that chess, crossword puzzles, and other mentally demanding activities protect against dementia. So which is it? Is blindfold chess an invitation to madness, or just another misunderstood challenge of the mind?
Curious, I dug in. What I found was not scientific evidence but a sea of blog posts and message-board rants about the so-called dangers of blindfold chess. The claims were dramatic: hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, behavioral collapse. But when it came to credible research? Nothing. Not a single solid study confirming these horrors.
Why do people think blindfold chess is dangerous? Advocates of that view point to the sheer concentration required to play it—tracking all the moves entirely in your head. It is undeniably exhausting. Still, exhaustion alone hardly qualifies as a health hazard. If it did, surgeons, architects, and air-traffic controllers would all be in constant peril. In fact, research consistently shows the opposite: mentally demanding work is associated with lower risk of cognitive decline. A quick scan of the medical literature turns up article after article reinforcing that point (see references below).
So here we are, a century after Russia’s ban, and science still doesn’t back up the fear. The supposed link between blindfold chess and psychological collapse seems to have been more folklore than fact, born of anecdote and limited understanding of the brain at the time.
Which leaves us with a more modern—and perhaps more relatable—truth. Blindfold chess is hard, yes. Exhausting, certainly. But dangerous? Not by any serious measure. If anything, the greater danger most of us face is the emotional sting of blundering away our queens in a regular game.
So no, blindfold chess won’t drive you insane. But for average players like me, while it still appears to be safe, I must admit that I do feel like I might go insane whenever I hang my queen.
Until our next game,
SB
References:
Kivimäki, M., et al. (2021). "Cognitive stimulation in the workplace, plasma proteins, and risk of dementia: three analyses of population cohort studies." BMJ, 374, n1804.
Edwin, T. H., et al. (2024). "Cognitively demanding occupations and risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia in older adults." Neurology. (Summarized in news articles from NIPH and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health).
Gilsanz, P., et al. (2017). "Cognitive demands of work and risk of dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies." The Lancet Neurology, 16(11), 885-893.
Stern, Y. (2009). "Cognitive reserve." Neuropsychologia, 47(10), 2015-2029.
