Blindfold Chess is not impossible to learn. Anyone can do it with practice.
Philidor was asked to play blindfold and learned to play blindfold over night.
The following are links to Blindfold Chess. You will not find the leads in any Chess Book. Here the secret is revealed. One of the sites is a download
with lessons. It will work with any OS, any Computer. Windows, Mac, Linux.
Training Program Two
Blindfold Chess Provides Visual aids.
Blindfold Chess (15 questions)
ICC Help: blindfold
The Psychology of Blindfold Chess « Tasty Research
Scientific Studies and Articles from the 19th Century to today:
The Chess Memory
Chess Samizdat Article 0050
The above was written in 1862.
http://galton.org/bib/JournalItem.as...on=view_id=239 (Click on PDF)
I.Q. and Chess (by Bill Wall -IQ and Chess).
Reason and Rhyme: Mnemonics and Blindfold Chess
(The above is a great article).
http://www.brunel.ac.uk/3518/PDF//Ca..._revised_5.pdf
(Note: A 40 Page article!!!).
A brief survey of psychological studies of chess (A paper on the pyschology of Chess).
Exeter Chess Club: Chess and Psychology (8 Page article).
The following is site indicated in my forward.
Download the item to your computer.
Chess blindfold trainer
Scientific Studies and Articles from the 19th Century to today:
The Chess Memory
Chess Samizdat Article 0050
The above was written in 1862.
http://galton.org/bib/JournalItem.as...on=view_id=239 (Click on PDF)
I.Q. and Chess (by Bill Wall -IQ and Chess).
Reason and Rhyme: Mnemonics and Blindfold Chess
(The above is a great article).
http://www.brunel.ac.uk/3518/PDF//Ca..._revised_5.pdf
(Note: A 40 Page article!!!).
A brief survey of psychological studies of chess (A paper on the pyschology of Chess).
Exeter Chess Club: Chess and Psychology (8 Page article).
History of-
Blindfold chess - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Blindfold Chess (By IM D. Kopec) and
a very good article.
ChessBase.com - Chess News - Melody Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tourney Begins Go to 3/4 of the page, a
paragraph about Morphy.
Blindfold Chess Dateline by Bill Wall.
About blinfold Chess history
Chessville has the following exercise:
Chessville - Chessvision Exercise - from Professorchess.com
The following should be printed out:
Blindfold Chess
The following may require a N Y Times sign in for memebers:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/cr...5fc5e6&ei=5070
It includes a game by Polgar.
ChessBase.com - Chess News - Melody Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tourney Begins
Additional information:
Blindfold 8x8x8 3D Chess
JG's Master Quest: Board Visualization and Blindfold chess
blindfold chess@Everything2.com
Books on BlindChess:
This is a new site. The Book can be read online, but not copied.
You read excerpts as allowed by the Publisher.
The book of chess: A Popular and Comprehensive ... - Google Book Search
A Scientic Book on Blindfold Chess;
IngentaConnect Apperception and Imagery in Blindfold Chess
The following may appear above: The listing is here again as a publication-
http://galton.org/essays/1890-1899/g...net-review.pdf
Another publication on Blindfold Chess. Excerpts.
IngentaConnect The mind's eye in blindfold chess
The following is not listed. Fritz7 had a blindfold feature.
Download Site for Visual Trainer:
Chess blindfold trainer
What is not available:
Some sites require membership in a professional organization, such as
Libraries. So they are not listed.
This Thread will be added to as new additions become available.
If you are teaching children print out the sites that have visual
training exercises.
It can be done!

Additional information:
Blindfold Chess
A visual board for training.
From the same site: You can download my free Blindfold Chess program here (updated 2007-02-19), but you must own the software Zillions of Games to be able to run it.
A DOS program for blindfold chess: Blindfold Chess
A History of Blindfold Chess in Canada
Blindfold Chess of Jonathan Berry
London TImes:
http://www.chesscafe.com/text/spinrad03.pdf
A strange article appears at
A Chess Hoax (Edward Winter)
A newer article on Blindfold Chess
http://www.brunel.ac.uk/3518/PDF//Ca..._revised_5.pdf
Download site Freepedia:
Download Chess-Trainer - Chess-Trainer script is a DHTML blindfold chess trainer. - Softpedia

I don't know about playing blindfolded - I play badly enough when I can look at the pieces!

Seriously, though, do you think learning to play blindfolded helps with visualization skills during normal games? I've heard that before and considered trying it once or twice, but I just never got around to it. I have enough other stuff I need to work on to try and become a worthwhile chess player.

One thing about your post: With that many links, it might be overwhelming for someone who doesn't know where to start. Can you point out which one or two links are best to start with, for someone new to this?

--Fromper

For those who asked a question:
Start with the following:
Blindfold Chess
Print out the diagrams. Note Very similar to Znosko-Borovsky's The Middle Game of Chess.
Then go to the following (The same website):
Chess-Trainer Download
Chess-Trainer Screenshots
Find Related Downloads

Go to the following site:
Chess - blindfold trainer
Complete information on the Trainer. With Screen Shots.
Note I have tried it from time to time. It appears to help.

Chess is about gaining confidence. Never be afraid to try something new.
When I go over Capablanca's games, he was never afraid of Gambits even though he was not a Gambit player.
Go for it.

I think that most players above B class can probably play blindfold chess without any training at all. I remember years ago (I was about 1900 then) I mentioned the fact that I could play blindfold chess to one of my non-chess friends at an all day barbecue/party. He didn't believe me so we got a couple of chessboards and someone made the moves that I announced and they recorded them (to avoid disputes). I won both games within 30 moves. My opponents got to see the boards. Everyone was unduly impressed. Try doing this BEFORE you drink too much alcohol though.

Crash

Wow! What a great list of references! Here's one more that should be mentioned that I didn't see listed that might help a person develop his ability to play blindfold chess, and that is the Chess Visualization Course. See Chess Visualization Course - practical training exercises for tactics and attack on the King to improve your chess vision!.

Chess Visualization Course was indicated in another post.
Note that Volume II was never published.
How it works: You look at a position, and a question is asked such as what will the position look like after the exchange of Queens.
The method is not new. Edward Lasker in Chess Strategy (early 20th Century when he was a student in Germany) indicated a similar learning method. Where you count an attack on a square or on an opponent's piece.

If you dont play a strong game of otb chess now---forget about blindfold chess, it ant gonna happen. But, just for the sake of argument, lets say you are in the 1700's and you can play a complete game of blindfold chess (extremely doubtful) . At 1700 you're making many mistakes in sighted play and those mistakes will be multiplied in blindfold chess. Strong blindfold players play at a level several hundred points below their sighted elo. So, if you are 1700 and can play blindfold chess---then you are playing at the 1400 level. Who cares, who are you going to impress playing at a beginners level. Your little sister maybe?

Forget about it---get as strong as you can over the board. We should be talking about what were the great Blindfold feats in history. I vote for Pillsbury- Hanover- 1902.

This was during the great Hanover tournament during Pillsburys rest day.
His opposition was players from the minor tournament who were masters or near masters---some later became GMs. 20 something boards, made up of four players each. They could talk to each other, consult, move the pieces around---unbelievable exhibition! I dont know how Pillsbury won a single game under these conditions. It lasted well into the morning hours and Pillsbury had a game scheduled that very morning in the big tournament.

There are many other examples of great blindfold play---Reuben Fine playing blindfold chess, 10 seconds a move, with four strong players and winning every game. How does one play multiple games of blindfold chess at 10 seconds a move??? Now that I dont understand!

its not a waste of time and its not about making a good impression (though, as has already been said, non-chess players seem very impressed by the ability to play blindfold). Thinking about chess in a different way is always useful, and probably, including serious blindfold playing into a traning program would help improvement more than blitz chess.

I agree with you on the Pillsbury games though. That was solid.

Who cares about impressing a
non-chess player. So you impress your little sister or your great aunt---who cares??

There are more useful ways for inexperienced players to spend their time. But, its their time, and if they want to waste it on blindfold chess---so be it. But it is a waste of time. If you have some free time for study---work on your rook and pawn endings or your tactics books. Play otb, play on the internet, read, study, and play and before you know it you'll be playing blindfold chess without any effort---and you'll be impressing chess players! Thats the tickett!!!