Yes.

Carlsen completely outplays World Champion Anand and then zaps him with 25 ... ♗e7xg5!. After losing the critical White g5-pawn the White position just falls apart.

25.c4 Be4 26.Bg2 Nb4 (the real threat)

27.Ne5(best counter)Nc2 28.Nxg6 R[h]e8 29.Bd2 Nx[R]a1 30.Rx[N]a1 Qd6 31.Nx[B]e7+Rxe7 32.Bx[B]e4 f5x[B]e4 33.Be3 b6

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click for larger view

> looks interesting, although White's exposed King limits what otherwise would be a clear win.

<percyblakeney: It's blindfold and doesn't really mean anything> I generally enjoy your commentary - but this is a rather silly thing to say as is < cracknik: ...I wonder if these guys are the best blindfold players... a lot of the games so far have been lost with moves of an under 2000 player.> For a game to be won - the loser had to err. All of Chess reduces to a beginner's mate....the last move of the sequence. . The idea that Blindfold play is frivolous is absurd. Alekhine once acknowledged he saw a combination he wouldn't have 'seen' if was actually looking at the board!

That's the idea. The players call out the moves and a third party makes the moves on a board they cannot see.

Very very difficult for ordinary humans. And to see a move like 28...Bxg5? Reminds me of Wayne's World: "we're not worthy".>

In modern system, you can see computer board, you have to write your move..and openent has to write in his computer...thats the way you don't need 3rd party....

If black plays Q h2ch or R h2 then 27 N x h2 seems to stop everything.

On 26 .... B x f3 I think white is best off playing 27 Bg2. Of course, black has now regained the piece and has won the pawn outright so I suspect that Anand's line was better; with this line and black can keep the pawn and has a commanding position.

Thanks again!

<pgp> Indeed ;-) I had to ask <Mal>, if this is blindfold, then what are they looking at? http://www.amberchess2009.com/pictu...

to anyone new at blindfold.. just give it a try, you'll see it's really not as bad as you think. it will get very confusing at first, but the trick is to concentrate on only what you need to. then when your opponent makes a play, you can establish what they just moved, and how that affects your position accordingly. trading queens is a good idea for beginners because the queen acts as a rook and bishop. Of course, always visualize the king, and try to line up your pieces towards it.

Also pawn chains, visualize them in your mind, and remember that they are permanent moves and lock up the board, or if you trade them, remember that there are open columns.

I started doing some blindfold chess in order to increase my calculating ability and also to improve spatial memory in general. I have worked my way up to 2-board "blind simuls" where a friend and I play two games, alternating between the two, and he looks at the boards and makes all the moves and I call out my moves while looking to the side. The position often gets fuzzy after 20 or 30 moves, but I can usually reason through where they should be, even if I can't visualize it.