The International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) is an organisation for blind and vision-impaired (VI) chess players. The IBCA is a International Chess Federation-affiliated chess organisation as well as a part of the International Blind Sports Federation.

The IBCA hosts two major competitions: the Blind Chess Olympiad and the Blind World Chess Championship.

History

The International Braille Chess Association originated informally in 1951 with the organisation (by Reginald Walter Bonham (1906–1984)) of the first international correspondence chess tournament for blind players; the tournament included 20 players representing 10 countries. It first organised an over-the-board tournament in 1958, with representatives from seven countries. IBCA became affiliated with FIDE in 1964.BrailleChess.org Hall of Fame: Reginald Bonham

Today, it has grown to encompass over 75 member nations around the world.

Rule modifications

Although most of the rules in blind chess are consistent with normal chess, there are a few modifications to the equipment to aid blind and VI players:Rules of Chess Retrieved 12 September 2018How Visually Impaired Play Chess Retrieved 24 January 2020Chess – Eyeway.org Retrieved 9 September 2014

Either player may demand the use of two boards, the sighted player using a standard board, the VI player using a board that is specially constructed: All the black squares are raised about 3–4 mm above the white squares on the chessboard. By feeling the squares, the player is able to determine whether the square is a black or a white one. Each of the squares on the board has a hole in the centre so that the chess pieces can be fixed in these holes. Each of the pieces has a downward projection (nail) at the base, which fits into the hole in the squares on the board, thereby fixing the piece securely on the board. All the black pieces have a pin fixed on their heads helping the player distinguish between a white and a black piece.

After making every move, each player is required to announce their move aloud to their opponent. Instead of writing the moves on a chess score sheet, the VI player writes the moves in braille or records the moves on a voice recorder.

IBCA Member Countries Nr.CountryNational member federation recognised by the IBCA1ArgentinaACUA (Ajedrecistas Ciegos Unidos de Argentina)2Austria Österreichischen Blindenschachbund3AzerbaijanAzerbaijan Braille Chess and Draughts Federation4BangladeshAssociation For Blind Chess (AFBC)5BelarusNational Paralympic Committee of Belarus6BelgiumBSFVG (Belgische Schaak Federatie voor Visueel Gehandicapten)7BoliviaFederación boliviana de deportes para ciegos (FEBODEC)8BrazilFederação Brasileira de Xadrez para Deficientes Visuais9BulgariaBulgarian Sports Federation for the Visually Impaired10CanadaBraille Chess Canada / Échecs Braille Canada11ChileConsorcio ajedrez para ciegos de Chile12ColombiaFederación deportes limitados visuales de Colombia (FEDELIV)13Costa RicaAsociación Deportiva de Ajedrecistas Especiales (ADAES)14CroatiaCroatian Blind Sport Association15Czech Republic 16DenmarkDanmarks blindeskak skak forenings kontakt17Dominican Republic 18El Salvador 19EcuadorFederación Ecuatoriana de deportes para personas con discapacidad visual (FEDEDIV)20Finland 21FranceAEPA (Association Echiquéenne pour les Aveugles)22GermanyDeutscher Blinden-und Sehbehinderten Schachverband e.V. (DBSB)23GreeceHellenic Sport Federation for persons with disabilities24GuatemalaComité pro ciegos y sordos de Guatemala25HondurasFederación Nacional de deportes para ciegos de Honduras (FENADECI)26HungaryFODISZ27Iceland 28India All India Chess Federation for the Blind29IndonesiaNational Paralympic Committee (NPC) Indonesia30IranI.R. Iran Sports Federation for the Blind and Visually Impaired31Ireland Braille Chess Association of Ireland 32IsraelIsraeli Chess Association for the Blind & Visually Handicapped33ItalyASCId (Associazione Scacchisti Ciechi Italiani dilettantistica)34KazakhstanKazakhstan Chess Federation of Athletes with Disabilities35KenyaChess Kenya Federation36Kosovoër të Verbër e Kosovës37Kyrgyz RepublicKyrgyz Republic Public Association “Chess and Draughts union of the Kyrgyz Republic among disabled people”38Latvia 39LithuaniaLietuvos aklųjų sporto federacijos40North MacedoniaNational Union of the Blind of North Macedonie41MexicoAsociación Mexicana de Deportes Adaptados Para Ciegos y Débiles Visuales A.C.42MoldovaMoldova Blind Sport Federation43Mongolia 44MontenegroUnion of the Blind of Montenegro45NetherlandsNSVG (Nederlandse schaakvereniging voor visueel gehndicapte)46NicaraguaAsociación Nicaragüense de Deportes para Ciegos (ANDECI)47Norway 48PakistanPakistan Blind Sports Federation49PanamaAsociación nacional de deportes para ciegos de Panamá (ANADEPC)50Paraguay 51Peru 52PhilippinesPhilippines Para Chess Association53PolandCROSS54PortugalLiga Portuguesa de Desporto para Surdos55Puerto RicoFederación puertorriqueño de deportistas ciegos56RomaniaRomanian Association of the Blind57RussiaAll-Russian Society of the Blind58SerbiaNational sports organisation of blind and visually impaired59SlovakiaSlovenská asociácia zrakovo postihnutých športovcov60SloveniaNational Paralympic Committee of Slovenia61South AfricaSouth African Braille Chess Association62SpainFederación Española de Deportes para Ciegos (FEDC)63Sri LankaSri Lanka Council for the Blind64SwedenThe Swedish chessfederation for visually impaired65Switzerland 66ThailandThailand Boardgame Club for the Blind67TurkeyTurkish Blind Sports Federation68TurkmenistanChess Center for the Blind of Turkmenistan69UkraineSports Federation of the Blind of Ukraine70United KingdomBraille Chess Association of the United Kingdom71United States of AmericaUSBCA72UzbekistanUzbekistan Blind sport federation73VenezuelaFederación Polideportiva de ciegos de Venezuela (FEPOCIVE)74VietnamVietnam Chess Federation75ZimbabweZimbabwe Braille Chess Association

References

External links

British Braille Chess Association