#3 Ché Martin: Blind Chess, Visualisation + Overcoming Ego Ono Another Chess Podcast

Ono (⁠⁠@TheOnoZone⁠⁠) talks to his friend + student Ché Martin about playing chess when you're blind, blindfold chess, visualisation exercises + overcoming your ego for chess improvement. Ché is an Emmy award winning Visual Effects artist who went blind in adulthood and has a unique perspective on chess improvement.

In this episode:

(01:23) Why Ché thinks chess is similar to music + sex

(02:19) Ché's story of going blind + coming into chess (+ how The Queen's Gambit book ruined audio books for him)

(05:48) How to play chess when you're blind

(09:09) Ché's experiences in the chess scene in his small town

(12:57) Losing - and how Ché + Ono throw chessboards across the room (jk)

(15:35) Why Ché care more about playing humans vs bots online (ego + pain)

(20:24) Chess improvement = confronting yourself with your weaknesses

(23:52) Why Ché tanked his rating on purpose during the Lichess 4545

(25:40) Ché + Ono answer: "Have you changed as a person because of chess?"

(28:45) Why Ché thinks it's better to solve puzzles OTB vs online (+ Ché's outstanding calculation abilities)

(33:52) The difference between reading books to finish them + reading books to actually learn

(37:39) What Blind Chess Superpowers does Ché have?

(40:31) What does Ché see inside his head when he visualises? (visualisation for blind + sighted people)

(44:55) Ono's experience with blindfold chess

(46:15) Ché's Visualisation Tips for Adult Improvers

(48:20) How your random chess skills can become comfort zones + hold you back (rook endgames)

(52:48) Ché's + Ono's views on Chess Improvement (books vs skills)

(56:11) Self-directed learning (for kids + Adult Improvers)

(58:17) What Ono taught Ché about annotating his thought process (+ why that's helpful)

(01:01:02) Why Ché likes to Get. Away. From. The. Board.

Have you done any visualisation exercises?

You're invited to join the conversation on all things chess in the Zoom Hangout with Ono + Ché Martin + other Adult Improvers on Friday, October 20th @1800 UTC!

Sign up to ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/TheOnoZone⁠⁠ (free trial available) and join us every other Friday to talk about all things chess + get other Patron-exclusive perks.

More info:

Random Skills of Adult Improvers (TheOnoZone) ⁠https://lichess.org/@/TheOnoZone/blog/the-random-skills-of-adult-improvers/ncQ7ik5E⁠

Invisible Chess Podcast https://audioboom.com/channels/5087184-invisible-chess

Ono's Chess Coaching for Adult Improvers https://www.theonozone.com/coaching

Download Ono's Wordy Chess Book List for Adult Improvers (and really read them) https://www.theonozone.com/book-list

About Ché Martin:

Dark Squares Online Chess Club for blind chess players: contact Ché at blindadrenaline@gmail.com | www.blindadrenaline.com

Follow TheOnoZone:

Patreon ⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/TheOnoZone⁠⁠⁠ | Twitter ⁠⁠⁠@TheOnoZone⁠⁠⁠ | Lichess ⁠⁠⁠@TheOnoZone⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠info@theonozone.com⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠www.theonozone.com⁠⁠

On the ⁠⁠website⁠⁠, you can download a free ⁠⁠Study Plan Template⁠⁠ + ⁠⁠Wordy Chess Book List⁠⁠, find out more about Ono's ⁠⁠Adult Improver chess coaching⁠⁠ + ⁠⁠book a free trial lesson with Ono⁠⁠.

Thanks to ⁠⁠TheOnoZone Patrons⁠⁠ who supported this episode: Marcus Buffett | Dan Bock | Dawn Lawson | Glen G | Mikey Wells | Michael Shpizner | Michael G | Karen W | Gregory C | BowiE | Yara V | Stefan K | Ché Martin | Andrew M | Ben Johnson

Thanks to my wife Yara for being the other half of TheOnoZone, Ché Martin for creating the legendary intro as well as being a great guest to interview, and Zach Shpizner for applying his audio engineering skills to this episode.

Make sure to follow Ono Another Chess Podcast on your favourite podcast app + give us a 5-star rating if you like it. Thanks for listening!