El rincón a ciegas

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.