Visualizing chess in your head

Hi all,

I was wondering if the majority of good chess players can easily visualize a chess board and pieces in their head and move pieces around.  I know the concept of "Good" chess players is subjective but I am curious how many of you are able to do this.

I love chess but I am not able to do this.  I have tried over and over but I just can't.

So help me understand - Can you do this?  If yes, were you able to do it right away or did it take time?  If it did take time what were the exercises you practiced to help you accomplish this?

Thanks.

Laser

I can "kind of" do it, though still miss where some pieces are as the game progresses. I also only really have tried to do it with openings I know fairly well. My only real practice has been attempting a few "blindfold" games. On one of the games I have done more recently I hung a piece as I lost track of one of the opponent's pieces.

Mostly though, I think what I'm really doing is remembering the move orders in this case (for the most part) and can replay them if needed.

As to visualizing over the board, I actually find that harder but try to do it, espcially when doing tatics puzzles. Of course, I'm not a good chess player

Seeing only sections of the board and moving pieces around there comes faster than whole board visualization... e.g. a blindfold game.  Some people have a natural talent for it, while other "strong" players aren't as good at it or can't do it at all... although I would have to guess all top players could play a blindfold game rather easily.

Yes, I think it comes with time.  Every time you play a long game OTB you do a lot of visualization.  Not just quick calculation like capture, capture, Nb3, capture ok I come out ahead, but really visualizing a new position.  Every time you do this you're practicing that skill and making it stronger.  Over time, you'll eventually be able to play a blindfold game, that is, visualize a board and move pieces around.

That's how I understand it anyway.

I genuinely believe doing this well is achievable by anyone. Did you ever hear of the memory palace technique? Well it goes on the idea that memory is a product of interest. But best described with an example: if you want to remember the numbers 3, 4, 1, 8.. picture yourself walking into your home, you open the front door, I mean, really observe the door handle.. and then as you open the door there's a massive oak tree in your front hall. tree = 3. and then right behind the oak tree is a gold platenum floor, so your gold front hall floor = 4. you start to walk into the first room of your house, and then you notice when you open it's door there's loads of nuns.. nuns =1's. 
Anyway, you get the idea on how this works with learning off numbers.. but let's imagine each chess square wasn't just a number and a letter.. let each square have a story of some sort 

Like probably all skills, this is something some people are born with a certain amount of talent in doing, but it takes practice in order to master it.

There are special visualisation exercises for this kind of training, if you devote time and effort in them you will become better

For example, you can just play through a game, and at certain positions stop moving the pieces, and try to visualise the board in the following 1, 2, 3 moves, just by reading the moves that were played - the further you move forward without moving the pieces, the more difficult it becomes, so take it slowly