January 1947 · São Paulo, Brazil

The Blindfold Game: Najdorf’s 45 boards in São Paulo, 1947, with the Rxh7!! attack

Miguel Najdorf played 45 games at once, blindfolded, in São Paulo in January 1947, and won 39 of them. One of the wins is the record game in which he mates with 26.Qxf7# after the rook sacrifice 20.Rxh7!!. The exhibition was a world record in its time.

Date: January 1947
Place: São Paulo, Brazil
Players: Miguel Najdorf (White, blindfolded) vs the consultation pair Camarinha and Rinsky (Black)
Result: 1-0 in 26 moves (one of 45 boards; +39 =4 −2)
Opening: English Opening (1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 d6)
On Chess History: You play Najdorf’s moves, and he hosts the course

Play the story Interactive: the moves, the characters, the endings to find.

The moves

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd4 6.Qxd4 a6 7.g3 Nf6 8.Bg2 g6 9.b3 Bg7 10.Bb2 O-O 11.h4 Nd7 12.Qd2 Nc5 13.h5 a5 14.hxg6 fxg6 15.Bd5+ Ne6 16.Ne4 Bxb2 17.Qxb2 c6 18.Bxe6+ Bxe6 19.O-O-O Qb6 20.Rxh7 Kxh7 21.Rh1+ Kg8 22.Rh8+ Kf7 23.Qf6+ Ke8 24.Rxf8+ Kd7 25.Qg7+ Bf7 26.Qxf7#

20.Rxh7!! and 22.Rh8+!! are the two sacrifices. The record game is one of 45 boards Najdorf played blind, with the other moves given in the sources.

Forty-five boards, no sight of them

In January 1947 Najdorf played blindfold, and his opponents called out their moves. He made each reply in his head, and he won 39 games, drew 4 and lost 2. It took about 23 hours, and it was a world record at the time.

The record was not the only point of the story. Najdorf hoped the news would reach his family, and the sources say nobody wrote back.

The game on the course

The game the course plays is the 26-move win in which the Black king is driven from g8 to d7 by checks, and the sacrifices on h7 and h8 open the way for the queen. 26.Qxf7# is the final mate.

The course lets you play Najdorf’s moves and find the sacrifices. The lesson is the one Najdorf taught by example: calculate the checks before you move, even when you cannot see the board.

Questions and answers

How many games did Najdorf play blindfold in 1947?

45 games at once, in São Paulo. He won 39, drew 4 and lost 2.

How long did the exhibition take?

About 23 hours, according to the sources. It was a world record.

What is the key move in the course’s game?

20.Rxh7!!, the rook sacrifice that opens the attack. The game ends with 26.Qxf7#.

Sources and checks

Najdorf’s São Paulo exhibition, January 1947 (Wikipedia, ChessBase, Chess.com, Guinness records)
chessgames.com (the 45 score sheets)
Engine check on this site: Stockfish 17

The moves on this page are checked for legality, and the engine evaluations come from Stockfish 17. Where a game is more legend than fact, the story says so.