Does This Kind of Problem Have a Name?

Hi, All.

My chess coach and I have a slight language barrier between us, so I don't know what these kinds of problems are called.  He gave me a puzzle that is supposed to be solved without pieces or a board, only telling me where everything is, for example: [White:Ka6,Nb8,Bh4,c2,d2; Black:Kd5,a3,d4]

The idea is to solve the puzzle entirely in your mind.  Has anyone ever seen these before?

Thanks.

Yeah, there's a website out there somewhere that has these.

It will also give you 5 to 10 moves of notation from the opening then ask you to find a tactic.

Basically blindfold / visualization practice.

That's an example of a problem I couldn't solve blindfold... maybe in 30 minutes or something.

Ah, so it's just called "blindfold chess."  I hit the internet to look for more problems, but I didn't come across much.  Do you know where to find these?

Yeah, I know they are going to be hard as heck at first.  I can play blindfold on two boards at once, but setting up these positions in my mind, even with so few pieces, seems a bit harder.  Not sure why, but it may have to do with having the move chronology in your mind.

If you remember the website or a publication that has them that you recall, let me know.  I don't think I've seen them in periodicals like Chess Life, but I also may have completely overlooked them.

Googled "blindfold chess practice" to see what came up.

Here are two

http://www.thechessdrum.net/chessacademy/CA_VisionBlindfold1.html

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-visualization-trainer.php

Whatever the answer is, I want to know how you solved that problem! It's hard enough to do it when I can see the board!

I tried for about 5 minutes blindfold, then asked my engine what the answer was.

I don't know how other people solve these, but to me it's just brute force calculation for endgame studies like that. Pick a move, and calculate it to the end. Over and over until you find the solution.

Well... yeah... no one calculates purely random moves. Otherwise it would take a lifetime to solve.

Look at these lessons here on Chess.com:

http://www.chess.com/video/player/achieving-full-board-awareness

http://www.chess.com/video/player/achieving-full-board-nirvana

The second has an exercise like what you are talking about - these are not exactly blindfold chess games, they are visualization exercises.  I find the ones from the second video amazingly good and amazingly hard.

I was asked by FM Boor (a great coach I found here on chess.com) "without a board, on what move does White play Qxd8+ in the main line of the Berlin Endgame?"  It was an awesome lesson visualizing through the moves of openings just in my head - and as IM Rensch says in his videos, visualization is super important to calculation.

Thanks, Randy.  Those are really helpful.  Shamefully, I must admit that those are the first videos I've watched from this site.  I really need to take more advantage of the diamond membership.

The odd thing about all of this is that I can play blindfold games, but the puzzle I gave was difficult in a way that slowly playing a blind fold game was not.  I think that what I am doing is making a move, memorizing the position and then slowly calculating.  It took me 30-45 minutes to solve this problem I was posed by GM Miljkovic.  I wish I could find more of them.

Those recommendations by Rensch are excellent.  I guess part of my modest success has been due to not moving pieces, ever, when studying.  Now, in chess lessons, my coach and I are rarely moving the pieces, unless the main line variation of our analysis has been decided upon (simulating thought as it is in a real game).

As far as visualization, specifically, I have done these books called "Chess Mazes."  I really do need to get on the that square and diagonal memorization business, though.

Just a small update.  I am sure this is common knowledge, but I didn't know this: the diagrams that are not given with a board and just as a text are problems given in FEN, which stands for Forsyth-Edwards Notation.  The problems being given to me (which I am getting better at! hooray!!!) are "studies in Forsythe-Edwards Notation."

I'm still looking for a source with these problems, but knowing the name should make it easier.