I've bought a chess book and just realized that in order to read it faster and more comfortably, I need to memorize the chessboard coordinates. So, I am using Lichess's coordinate testing section to practice the square names. So far I'm getting better at it. Now, if someone asks me any coordinate I can easily take a second and visualize where exactly it lies on the board.
But, now I want to go a step ahead and remember the color of all the squares. How can I do that? Is there any trick? Please help.
That's not important at all. You see the squares on the board when you play and analyze.
The a1-h8 diagonal is dark, the a8-h1 diagonal is light. The home diagonals of the light square bishops (f1-a6-c8-h3) and the dark square bishop (c1-h6-f8-a3) can be remembered as well. Same for the home diagonals of the queens (a4-d1-h5 vs a5-d8-h4) etc
I'm not sure if it'll be helpful for everyone, but I first memorized the four corner squares and the four central squares. You notice that the diagonal corners (e.g. a1 and h8) are the same color, but the ends of the same file and rank (e.g. a1 and a8) are different colors. Then I thought about the board as four smaller squares and used the same pattern, so a1 and a4 are different colors, but a1 and d4 are the same. This really helped picture other squares quickly in my head because you only have to go one or two spaces at most. Some squares just stick in my head, like f6 and f3 for some reason, while other times I have to stop and think for a second.
If you're just starting out playing blindfold, you could try little mnemonic aids for the colors of squares (especially those that are not as easy to picture as e4 and d5, or d4 and e5), to help verify square colors in your visualization:
E.g.:
Seasick (c6) white;
Before (b4) black.
And once you know the colors of a few key squares as second nature and without effort, you can always deduce colors of other squares because side-adjacent squares are the opposite color, whereas diagonally related squares are the same color.
I knew a master from India who told me he often would stare at an empty board for about an hour; he felt this helped him understand the geometry of the board. I guess you could try doing this while identifying the algebraic names of the squares.
In blindfold chess (at which I am not skilled) I often find it difficult to recall the actual position on the board, because I am also visualizing and considering analysis of various lines. Keeping the actual position clearly in mind seems more difficult than remembering the color of each square, because the square colors on the board never change, whereas the positions of pieces on the board do change.
Convert letters to numbers:
a=1,
b=2, etc.
Add the two coordinates:
a1:a+1=1+1=2,
b1=2+1=3,
b2=2+2=4, etc.
If the result is even it's a dark square, if the result is odd it's a light square.
I use a simplified version of
@polylogarithmique 's technique.
White on the right, so a8 is white and so a1 must be dark.
Convert the letter to a number.
If they are both odd or both even, it's a dark square (a1 is (1,1)).
If one's odd and one's even, it's a light square (a8 is (1,8).
c4 (3,4) is light. g6 (6,6) is dark. etc.
@MatthewKCanada said in #6:
> I use a simplified version of
@polylogarithmique 's technique.
>
> White on the right, so a8 is white and so a1 must be dark.
> Convert the letter to a number.
> If they are both odd or both even, it's a dark square (a1 is (1,1)).
> If one's odd and one's even, it's a light square (a8 is (1,8).
>
> c4 (3,4) is light. g6 (6,6) is dark. etc.
That's genius!!
@MatthewKCanada said in #6:
> I use a simplified version of
@polylogarithmique 's technique.
>
> White on the right, so a8 is white and so a1 must be dark.
> Convert the letter to a number.
> If they are both odd or both even, it's a dark square (a1 is (1,1)).
> If one's odd and one's even, it's a light square (a8 is (1,8).
>
> c4 (3,4) is light. g6 (6,6) is dark. etc.
Basically that's the same thing because "x+y is even" is equivalent to "x and y have the same parity".
@polylogarithmique said in #8:
> Basically that's the same thing because "x+y is even" is equivalent to "x and y have the same parity".
I agree, but it's simpler because it doesn't require you to do the addition, just to compare two numbers between 1 and 8.
1 3 5 7 are all odd numbers.
A C E G sound like "odd letters" compared to "even letters" like B D F H.
Black is odd.
White is even.
When they both line up, the square is black.
When they don't line up, the square is white.
A1 = odd/odd = black
A2 = odd/even = white
B2 = even/even = black
D7 = even/odd = white
The numbers speak for themselves, all you have to do is get your head around A C E G being "odd" letters compared to the even "B D F H" and it's easy.
