8by8verse The Chess Universe
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Chess Lab › The words and memory room

Blindfold corner

  • Working memory
  • Ages 8 and up
  • About 6 minutes

The story behind it

Strong players can follow a whole game without looking at the board. The Polgár sisters of Budapest practised this as children. It is not magic; it is a muscle. It starts with one piece and two moves.

Read the full story: Three sisters and an experiment →

How to play

  1. See where the piece starts.
  2. Read the moves. “Up” means towards rank 8.
  3. Tap the square where it ends — the piece will not move for you.

Levels

For teachers and coaches

Blindfold corner — Working memory

Ages 8 and up · about 6 minutes · 8by8verse Chess Lab

What it teaches

Holding and updating a picture in the mind; following multi-step directions.

The story to tell first

Strong players can follow a whole game without looking at the board. The Polgár sisters of Budapest practised this as children. It is not magic; it is a muscle. It starts with one piece and two moves.

Three questions to ask

  • What did you picture — the whole board, or only the piece?
  • Which was harder to follow, the rook or the knight? Why?
  • What trick helped you keep track?

Without a screen

No equipment needed. Say: “A rook on a1 goes four up, then three right.” The class writes the square. Works in a corridor.

Mirror match Symmetry Half the board is a picture. Build its reflection. Ages 6 to 11 · about 5 minutes Back to the labAll 19 games and 12 stories.