Blindfold Go

This is, as of 2024-01-25, more of a collection of materials than a satisfactory article.

Blindfold Go refers to the game of Go as played without being able to see or feel a board, so that the player has to rely purely on their powers of recall and visualisation. This should not be confused with blind Go, Go as played by the visually impaired using tactile clues.

The ability to play blindfold 19×19 Go appears to be a specialised talent rather than something that goes with being a professional or strong player. Blindfold 9×9 Go, on the other hand seems to be attainable by relatively weak players.

Table of contents Difficulties and solutions Recalling games Comparison with chess Players Professional players Bao Yun In culture An Asian legend In anime In film See also External links Discussion

Difficulties and solutions

Some players report that blindfold Go in front of an empty board is easier than with no board at all.

Recalling games

Although stronger players (from around 1 dan amateur) can easily recall their games for review, this does not mean that they can visualise them, as they remember each move in the (often local) context of the previous one.

Comparison with chess

Blindfold Go appears to be much harder than chess. This is probably because of the large board, entailing long games, and the possibility for minor differences in the positions of stones. Also chess ends with capture of the king, while in Go the endgame involves many minor details and depends on accurate counting. Moreover in chess the board gets emptier while in Go it gets fuller.

Players

Professional players

Though professionals can start playing blindfold 19×19 they apparently usually lose track after about 120 or 150 moves. (citation needed!)

Mok Jin-seok 9d tried blind baduk but had to stop at 121 moves, which seemed to be some sort of record, at least in Korean articles.

Bao Yun

Bao Yun claims to be the only person in the world who can play a complete 19×19 game blindfolded, which he regularly does in demonstrations. We quote him describing himself as Chinese 6d, though elsewhere people have called him 2p.

He beat Matthew Macfadyen 6d, who thought he would have needed about 3 stones to win.

He has also played 5 simultaneous games.

In culture

An Asian legend

Some people recalled a legend of a traveller who, benighted in a storm, finds shelter in a house where people play in the dark, calling out the moves, until one player resigns, saying they will lose by one point. The next morning he wakes up among ruins and concludes that the players were spirits.

In anime

Hikaru no Go an episode.

In film

The Divine Move (신의한수), 2014, sequel in 2019.

See also

• Bao Yun — as above
• Blind Go — about how visually impaired players play, normally using tactile clues
  • The discussion includes comments on blindfold go.
• Go Variants — See especially the section on Limited information or visibility
• One Colour Go — Playing with all stones the same colour: far easier than blindfold

External links

• https://www.reddit.com/r/baduk/comments/q3hm5m/about_blindfold_go/
• https://forums.online-go.com/t/blindfold-go-stuff/26368
• https://lifein19x19.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=11154

Discussion

See also the discussion on the Blind Go page, which also mentions Blindfold Go.