Chess blindness
Chess blindness called in chess the overlooking an obvious, immediate threat of the enemy. This can be, for example, a threat to mate or a piece loss, which usually leads to immediate loss, unless both players are chess-blind. There are also cases where a game is abandoned when the situation is by no means hopeless. The occurrence of chess blindness is favored by lack of time .
If trains are accidentally reversed in the order, one speaks colloquially of a finger error .
The cognitive-psychological causes of chess blindness, the busy chess psychology .
The doctor and chess grandmaster Siegbert Tarrasch also called chess blindness in his work The Modern Chess Game as Amaurosis scachistica . While Jacques Mieses attributes it to brain fatigue , Tarrasch suspects a high degree of excitement as the cause, which leads to obvious positional characteristics no longer being perceived due to excessive concentration.
Chess blindness occurs in players of all skill levels , only chess programs are immune to it, because they do not make any obvious tactical errors within the scope of their calculation horizon . However, extreme cases of chess blindness are also rare in good human players.
Chess blindness must not be confused with blind chess or blind chess .
example 1
| a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H | ||
| 8th |  |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
8th |
| 7th | |
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
7th |
| 6th | |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
6th |
| 5 |  |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
5 |
| 4th | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4th |
| 3 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
| 2 | |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
2 |
| 1 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
1 |
| a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H |
In this position, which is clearly better for him, the later world chess champion Tigran Petrosjan played the blind move 36. Ne4 – g5 in his game against David Bronstein (Amsterdam 1956), whereupon Black could simply beat the white queen with 36.… Nf5xd6 . Petrosyan gave up immediately.
Example 2
| a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H | ||
| 8th | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
8th |
| 7th | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7th |
| 6th | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6th |
| 5 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
| 4th | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4th |
| 3 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
| 2 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
| 1 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
| a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H |
An example of mutual chess blindness is the game between László Szabó and Samuel Reshevsky from the 1953 Candidates Tournament. Black is in chess, 20.… Kg8 – h8 is forced. Reshevsky, however, played 20.… Bg7xf6, which allows for a trivial two-move mate after 21. Qc2xg6 + (the f7 pawn is tied up by the d5 bishop ). Inexplicably, Szabó drew 21. Bb2xf6 and the game ended in a draw on move 27.
Example 3
Bonn 2006
| a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H | ||
| 8th | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
8th |
| 7th | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7th |
| 6th | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6th |
| 5 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
| 4th | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4th |
| 3 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
| 2 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
| 1 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
| a | b | c | d | e | f | G | H |
The match between world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik and the chess program Deep Fritz overlooked Kramnik (Bonn 2006) Surprisingly, a single-train Matt and lost a balanced position despite still sufficient existing reflection after 34. ... De3 ?? 35. Dh7 #.
According to his own statements, Kramnik had already aimed for the position after 34 ... Qe3, believing that he would win now, a few moves earlier. Because of White's weakness in the bottom row, the queens exchange seems inevitable, as otherwise there would be two options for Black with a threat of mate (35.Qxb4 is followed by Bd2 36. Qh4 Bb4! With an attack on the knight and threat of mate on c1; on 35. Qh4 follows Qe2 with the Threat Qf1 # or knight win). After the exchange of queens should a distant passed pawn on the queenside (after a4-a3) win because the Springer is too far away to f8.
Instead of losing 34.… Qe3, Kramnik would have had to be satisfied with continuous chess and a draw with 34.… Kg8 after 35. Ng6 Bxb2 36. Qd5 + Kh7 37. Nf8 + Kh8 38. Ng6 + etc.
literature
- Emil Gelenczei: This is how you play chess: a study on chess blindness . Caissa Chess Books, Kecskemét 1997.
- Johannes Fischer: Amaurosis Scacchistica. Notes on chess blindness . In: KARL. The cultural chess magazine . 2, 2005, pp. 38-39, ISSN 1438-9673 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Siegbert Tarrasch: The modern game of chess . 2nd edition, Leipzig 1916. pp. 452–455.