Blind Chess Trainer for Android

If you are an accomplished chess player, which you probably are or else you wouldn’t even consider playing blindfold chess, this is NOT the program for you. The chess engine plays the same opening EVERY time with ZERO variation. For example, as Black, it will always play Petroff’s Defense (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6). As White, it will begin EVERY game with Nf3. Every game! The only setting seems to be the option to turn the sound on or off. The internal chess engine seems to play a decent game of chess but I didn’t test it out much as I got bored playing the same opening moves, over and over again. There is no option to control the level at which the engine plays. The lack of variety makes this completely acceptable, in my opinion. Good idea but poorly implemented. I will probably delete it.

I bought this a week ago or so, and during that time I certainly cannot have become adept at blind chess. However, the app works as described with no flaws, and it seems ideally suited to acquiring the ability to visualize the game without helps. Learning to see the pieces in the mind's eye without helps is probably key to learning the game as a whole. ...... I think that in the long run, the real 'blind chess' one should play isn't just sans pieces but sans board. Now that would be one interesting app to program! But it could be done easily enough. Just list moves, with no board. Present. A-H and 1-8 would be needed as input buttons, and a board flash button. Also, please consider making it possible to set up a position.

This is a wonderful little app, we love it. However, a few features of ChessWise should be adapted: 1) variable engine strength 2) save/load PGN 3) email game (maybe even auto-email so I could get my daughter's games automatically, like on ICC :-)) Can you work on it a little bit more please? ---- Update 2/9/13: Now the engine strength can be set, which is great and it deserves five stars. Can I suggest two more features (on top of email/save pgn) that would be easy to program: Count the number of flashes and the number of illegal moves. These would provide good feedback on one's progress.

It does what it says it does, and that is to get you into the blind mode of playing chess. That said, I would like to also echo the ability to vary levels (but this is second to) email via pgn format. I don't care about the flashing although I just discovered that if you turn the Android or iTouch horizontally, you will see the board. I didn't understand immediately why the pieces were the same color, but after the 6th move, I realized it. Then the other training sessions just made me laugh, I am not playing checkers! and finally, blind chess! is just a killer! Great job and I would love to see more improvements. However, I wouldn't let these cries for upgrades to stop anyone from buying as it really will help you concentrate harder, and that's the point right?

Great aps. I like the different levels you can do for blind chess training. However it needs extra features. E.g. After a game you should be able to email the game moves for further analysis. Maybe in PGN notation. Also it needs to balance the computer playing strengths the way shredder does so you get challenge every time by winning a few and loosing a few.