and "great practice" were the chief desiderata. Mnemonics are of very little use in blindfold play, and no so-called "system" that I have seen is of the slightest practical value. These feats are simply good examples of what a person can accomplish by thoroughly mastering all the details of one particular subject.
Hermann Kothe details a chess memory in his book, by which the position of any piece may be remembered by converting it into a word; but this would be of very little use in blindfold play, as every move would necessitate a fresh word and a new association.
Whist.
A whist memory can only be gained by practice and a thorough familiarity with the game and the recognized method of playing it. The most concise book on the subject is, I believe, Dr. Pole's "Theory of the Modern Scientific Game of Whist," published by Longmans. The only way in which mnemonics have been used has been to assist in remembering the fall of the cards. This can be done by arranging the trump cards to the left of all the other suits, and placing cards to the left side of the trumps to denote the manner an opponent has won a trick. Hoyle gives a few rules on this subject, but they have to be considerably modified in practice. Thorough good whist players, as a rule, use no system to remember the fall of the cards.[1] Playing the game scientifically helps the memory to a great extent, and a player with a thorough knowledge of the game has no difficulty in remembering what cards have fallen, and can also make fairly accurate guesses as to who possesses other cards. By his own play he informs his partner the strength of his hand, and his partner does the same. Each trick, to a good player, gives him certain information, upon which he has to base his own play, and he is so interested in each trick that he cannot well forget it. Whist is now recognized as a scientific game, in which skill almost equals
- ↑ If desired, I can supply, privately, a good Whist system based on private my figure alphabet, but, so long as mnemonic quacks abound, I do not care to give particulars in this book.
