The Friday File: The first known game of blindfold chess took place in the 13^th century when Buzecca played two games simultaneously. In the 18^th century, Andre Phildor played three opponents at once. In the 20^th century, blindfold chess took off. In 1947, Argentine Miguel Najdorf played 45 games at once, in 2011 German Marc Lang took on 46, and last December American Timur Gareyev played 48 games simultaneously.