chess-The Oxford Companion to Chess - First Edition by David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld

36 BLEDOW
BLEDOW, LUDWIG ERDMAN (1795-1846),
German professor of mathematics who was pro,
bably the stongest Berlh pia,rrer around 1840. He
was fou.der of the prEADEs. and the driving Iore
behind the Berlinor SchachAesellschaft. thc chess
sociely ot which he became president in 1836. At a
time shen Paris a.d London were rhe chess cenlres
of Europe, and when the.e werc no ouBlanding
playen in Geimany, the Schacheeselhchalt set
ilselt ihe task oi raising the standard ol chess in
Gernany and, d a meanstothisend, ofp.oducing
a comPrehensve lextbook and lounding a chess
maguine, ains which were successfully achieved:
While Bilguer N610 edn tbe tuNDDU.Hi Bledow
*as to produce lbe maguine: he lived just loDg
enough to see lhe 6.sr number ot tbe Bonlhly
S.ha.hzeitung. Bledow playcd a feq natches,
notably delealing rAENrs.E in 1842. His large
colledion of chess books becane part of the Royal
Library in Berlin. (See pERroDrcALs.)
BLEDOW VARIATION, 568, sonelines called
counter gambit, a standard defence to the Brssop-s
{;AMBI, known from a gamc Bilgucr-Bledos.
Berlin, 1840. Tlre vanadon is sometimes .amed
afler MoRlsy, vho probably gleaned his inlorna
tion iiom ihc fi6t cdition oI Bilguer's EANDBICS-
1843.
BLIND, CHESS FOR TIIE! is playedwith special
equipment.ln rhe Eri,irl Cl.rs Ma1azine.18 9,n
coiespondenl suggcsted that boards and chesnensbouldbemadespeciauyloriheblinij.Areply
flon William Wood stated that he had made such
apparatus sincc 1848i his desi8n, slightly modifi cd.
has since become bctlcrknoNn. Each blind playe.
ha his o*n board, the black squares rined. and
with a holc io the centre ofevery squarc. The nen
have pegs on thc underside wbich plug inlo thc
holes. The while nen havepointed tops, rheblack
menrounded toF. Plarer call outtheirnovesand
.ecordthcm in brailleoron a sound rccorder. Foi
play betseen blind and sighted players th€rc is a
rrDr suppletuent ro the laws ofcnes, with especial
referencc to the roucB MovE LAw. A blidd
player constanlly nnge$ ^ND the chesmen on his
board, and is deemcd to have touched a manonly
wncn hehasremoveditf.omitssockel.
Hnmove is
.onrplctcd shen rhe man n secu.cd in ils new'
socket and his molr has been called outionly the.
is tbe opponent\ clock slarted. Exceptionally.
some blind players play blindfold , nenher using
special cquipnent nor louching the normat board
Ihere hi!e been many {rnng hlndpLayeA a#
one ot rhrm, ReEinrld Walrer B.nham f1aOF84 r.
four tines a British Chanpionship .ontender,
lbmed lhe Inlenational Braille Cbess Asociation
in 19il Alili.ted to FIDE in 1964_ rhe IBCAhas
si.ce o.ganizcd vorld chanpionships, worlil cor
resPondence championsbips, and Olympiads lor
blind plnyers. The nosi lamous btind problemnt
BasA. F. GcruNzE In1902hesaid: lhavelately
cone 10 fiink that problem omposiiion is pccu-
Iiarly a mental work. and that employment of
board and nen is in many says a nunance. It
cramps the im einative faculties. Ccrtainly the
three sovers I haveconposed since I lost mysight
arc infinitely superior, as a whole. to thos€
BLINDFOLD CIIESS, chess played without sight
oflhe board. rhis is nol dilficult lor a shongplaler
bul othe6 find it astonishing, pcrhaps uncanny
Sone nasteB have specialized in playing many
such gamessioultaneo6ly. When asked to explain
how thh is done thev have givcn varied and
connicdng answers. Few.lained io see the board
as a kind of phorogr phinrhenind, butnodoubt
all posse$ed good powes ol lisualizatiod. The
seni.e oI chess does not profl by it. Hc Nho plavs
well sithoui seeing the boardwill play even betler
ithe does look at it. Therefore these displays are
n.rcly shoss to dazde rhepublic pErRoFF. They
sere also a soura ol in.om. ro needyprolession
als. especially in the period 1860-1940. Blindfold
play is sresslul and sone exponenis 6nd that
imagcry of board and nen persists in their minds
alteradisplay The Soviet aurhorities, not alone in
believins ihat mental health could be endansered
by biindfold displays, ban.ed them irom 1930.
Ncally as old as the gane nse[, blindlold play
waso.iginallv as thc name implies:a playeas eyes
were covered and he felt lhechessmcn. The grcal
Negro ptayer mdn was one oI the frBt to rurn his
back o.lhc board. noN the usualpiaclice. All the
greatmasteBofsHdrRANr
wcrc ablc to play ar leasl
one game blindfold. TIe earliesl known display in
Europe was by a saraen named Buecca (som+
tines Bucbecha orBorz.ga) wbo visited Florence
in 1266 and playcd lhrce slmes sinllt.deously.
one over-lhe-board and two unscen The last
aicounts oilhe old gane playedrhh Nay arc given
by Sukaikir in the middle olthe 16th century. Hc
sas a O.eek profc$ional YusulChelebi who had
roured India and the Near East plaving blindiold
by louch, and he had heird of a playe. Nho could
managc tcn boards, sinning all of tbem and
coreding hh adlcrsaries lalse noves. Tbe
Ianous l6tb-centnry playcrs oI modern cbe* such
as LopEz, Bor-cERoN. and s^Lvo were skillcdinlhis
lormol.hcss An ft alianprieslGiovanniGi.olamo
Saccbe (1667-1733)was{tll knosoiorhisskiuat
playing rhree games witbour siebt of the board an{j
calling back all lhe nores afterwards.
In spite of th( continuous record oi blindlold
play pflrlDoRt display against two oppodenrs al
Paris in 174,1was thought to be an unprcccdcntcd
achicvcmcnr. Ar Berlin id 1750 he played th.ee
games aton.c and latcrin hislile g!!enanythree
gane exhibitions in London.'Ihcsc made such an
impression ihrl be las tbougbt to be rhc.rcaror oI
thh kind oI play. La6be\ ,qn bty of Chds \1161)
should havc dispcllcd that illusion. Since then
nany naste6 have bee. Nilling to plir blindlold,