Why I Created Chess Vision

While I have a strong grasp of chess fundamentals, I have one serious weakness that keeps me from achieving greater success in the game. I suffer from Aphantasia, a condition that prevents me from having a visual memory. Seeing the final position after a few moves in a potential variation is very difficult for me, and my calculation time is very slow.

My hope is that after spending some time with this tool, I can build my visualization skills. It's unclear whether that's possible or not, but time will tell.

I offer Chess Vision here to anyone who thinks it may help their own visualization, or to those who just want a fun new type of chess puzzle. Enjoy!

— Jamie Kowalski

How to Play Chess Vision

Choose a puzzle size to set the difficulty. This is the size of the board portion that will be displayed for each puzzle. Click on Start to begin playing. You will have three minutes to complete as many puzzles as you can.

Each puzzle is presented as a section of the board taken from an actual chess position, viewed either from the White or Black perspective. When you have memorized the position, begin duplicating it by clicking on the pieces to the right of the board, and then on the squares where the pieces belong. When the position has been correctly set up, you will receive some points, and the next position will display.

If you have trouble with a puzzle, you can hold down the Peek button to take another look at the position, with a small reduction in score. While you are holding down the button, time will pass twice as quickly. You can skip a puzzle by hitting the Skip button.

Scoring

• Each completed puzzle earns 1 point per square, plus 1 point per piece.
• Each click of the Peek button reduces the value of the puzzle by 2 points, with a minimum puzzle value of 2.
• Skipping a puzzle does not reduce your score, but it will affect your accuracy statistic.
• The Accuracy chart shows which pieces you are having the most trouble with. The last box shows color accuracy; a correct piece of the wrong color will lower this value.