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In Chess, You Need to KNOW What Each Move Does
5 ways to practice the 5-sentence exercise
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Aiden Rayner’s approach to blindfold chess is unique. By replacing the term “visualization” with “conceptualization”, he gives hope to all of us who process information more verbally than visually.
There’s a word that has forever been paired with Chess. It’s been used since the earliest writings about Chess, and can be heard from the mouth of pretty much every Chess instructor since. That word is visualization. It’s the word most people use to describe how they interact with their mental board, how they calculate, how they remember and recall positions. And it’s the wrong word.
Conceptualization is the interaction of our working memory with Chess information. It does not require people to have any visuals in their mind (a point I’ll talk more about here). And it’s far more interested in ensuring your brain has clarity in the current position than it is in hypothetically “seeing” moves ahead.
— Aiden Rayner, ‘What Is Conceptualization?’
