Well, some coaches here believe it's really important for your board visualisation: to be able to play out lines in your head when calculating. Others don't consider it that important. My candidate master boyfriend practices with me in the following manner: I have a board to play it out, he can't see it (plays blind). It's a good handicap to use.
If you want to learn to play blindfold, I've some good tricks are:
1. When doing puzzles or studies (especially long and complicated ones), don't move the pieces. Visualise it.
2. If you're not quite ready for blindfold play, you can set up a board, but replace all the pieces with pawns (you'll need an extra set). This forces you to remember which pawn symbolises a certain piece (the b1 pawn symbolises a knight, a8 a rook, etc.), but at least you know which squares are occupied.
It's very important to establish understanding of improtance of being able to play chess with closed eyes(blindfold). It was quite useless to talk to titled players about it-they have no f clue all they know is that they can.
The question is: If a person can't play blindfold can he become a Fide Master?
Does anyone here have any thoughts about it?
I play for 9 years, I only reached 1850 FIDE on 6th year I have 2100 FIDE and from personal experience I feel that I use more energy on calculation than those who can play blindfold but I can see and calculate basicly without problems, I have played against IM and drew.