The Blind Chess Olympiad is an international chess competition for the blind in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. [1] The event takes place every four years, and is sponsored by the International Braille Chess Association. [1] The Blind Chess Olympiad is the largest sporting event in the international field of chess for the visually impaired. [2]
The forerunner to the Blind Chess Olympiads was a blind chess tournament held in Rheinbreitbach, Germany, in 1958. The winner of the event was Reginald Walter Bonham, who would found the International Braille Chess Association. [3] The first official Blind Chess Olympiad was held in 1961 in Meschede, Germany. Eight teams competed to play 122 games in round-robin format with Team Yugoslavia as the resulting winner. [1] [4] For the third Blind Chess Olympiad in 1968, held in Weymouth, England, 20 teams competed. Russia won the event with Yugoslavia in second place. The Polish team arrived by train in the early hours of the morning bringing with them the body of their sighted translator who had died en route (Reference: Organizer, John Graham). By the 2008 13th Blind Chess Olympiad in Heraklion, Crete, 34 teams participated, making the Blind Chess Olympiad the most significant sporting event in the international field of chess for the blind to date. [2] [5] [6]
# | Year | City | Winner | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1961 | Meschede, Germany | Yugoslavia | [4] |
2 | 1964 | Kühlungsborn, Germany | Yugoslavia | |
3 | 1968 | Weymouth, United Kingdom | Soviet Union | |
4 | 1972 | Pula, Croatia | Soviet Union | |
5 | 1976 | Kuortane, Finland | Soviet Union | |
6 | 1980 | Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands | Soviet Union | |
7 | 1985 | Benidorm, Spain | Soviet Union | |
8 | 1988 | Zalaegerszeg, Hungary | Soviet Union | |
9 | 1992 | Majorca, Spain | Russia | |
10 | 1996 | Laguna, Brazil | Russia | |
11 | 2000 | Zakopane, Poland | Russia | |
12 | 2004 | Tarragona, Spain | Poland | |
13 | 2008 | Heraklion, Greece | Russia | |
14 | 2012 | Chennai, India | Russia | |
15 | 2017 | Ohrid, North Macedonia | Russia | |
16 | 2021 | Rhodes, Greece | Russia | [7] |
The 36th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 14 and October 31, 2004, in Calvià on the Spanish island of Mallorca. There were 129 teams in the open event and 87 in the women's event. In total, 1204 players were registered.
The 37th Chess Olympiad, organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between May 20 and June 4, 2006, in Turin, Italy. There were 148 teams in the open event and 103 in the women's event. In total, 1307 players were registered.
The 35th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, took place between October 25 and November 11, 2002, in Bled, Slovenia. There were 135 teams in the open event and 90 in the women's event.
The 31st Chess Olympiad, organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, took place between November 30 and December 17, 1994, in Moscow, Russia. Both tournament sections were officiated by international arbiter Yuri Averbakh of Russia.
The 38th Chess Olympiad, organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place from 12 to 25 November 2008 in Dresden, Germany. There were 146 teams in the open event and 111 in the women's event. In total, 1277 players were registered.
IBCA may refer to:
New College Worcester is an independent boarding and day school for students, aged 11–19, who are blind or partially sighted. It caters for around 80 students. It is located in the city of Worcester, England. A 2012 Ofsted inspection classed the school with a Grade 2 (Good). The school has also been featured in the Good Schools Guide.
Events in chess in 1972;
The 39th Chess Olympiad, organised by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place from September 19 to October 4, 2010, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. There were 148 teams in the open event and 115 in the women's event. In total, 1306 players were registered.
The International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) is an organization for blind and visually impaired chess players. The IBCA is a FIDE-affiliated chess organization as well as a part of the International Blind Sports Federation. The International Braille Chess Association originated informally in 1951 with the organization of the first international correspondence chess tournament for blind players; the tournament included 20 players representing 10 countries. It first organized an over-the-board tournament in 1958, with representatives from seven countries. Today, it has grown to encompass over 50 member nations around the world. The IBCA hosts two major competitions: the Blind Chess Olympiad and the Blind World Chess Championship.
Reginald Walter Bonham was a blind chess player from St. Neots, England known for his achievements in both blind and sighted chess. After founding the International Braille Chess Association in 1951, he became the Blind World Chess Champion in 1958 and the Correspondence Blind World Champion in 1957, 1959, 1961, 1964 (jointly) and 1966. He died in Worcester, England at the age of 78.
The All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) is the governing body for the game of Chess among visually impaired in India. It was formed in 1997 with a view to promoting the game of chess among the visually impaired all over the country. It is registered under Society Registration Act, 1860; Public Trust Act, 1951 and Income Tax Act, 1961 – Section 12A.
The 40th Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, was an international team chess event that took place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 27 August to 10 September 2012. The city also hosted the event in 2000.
The 41st Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, was an international team chess event that took place in Tromsø, Norway, between 1–14 August 2014. The organiser was Chess Olympiad Tromsø 2014 AS on behalf of FIDE.
Darpan Inani is a prolific blind Indian chess player and a Chartered Accountant from Vadodara. He won 2 gold medals - individual as well as team gold medal - at Para Asian Games held in China in October, 2023. He had a career peak FIDE elo rating of 2135, the highest ever elo rating to have been attained by any visually impaired player from India as of January, 2024. He won a bronze medal on his respective board in the 16th World Chess Olympiad for visually impaired held in Greece in 2021. He was also a bronze medalist at the 2013 World Junior Championship in Belgrade. He is the youngest player to have ever won the National blind chess championships. He is the only Indian visually impaired chess player to have ever won international first prize at the Creon Open chess tournament in France in August 2018. This was a historic moment for Indian chess when a visually impaired player won first prize in international open sighted tournament in his rating category. He is honoured with the Yuva Ratna award by All India Marwari Yuva Manch in April 2018 in Siliguri, West Bengal. He is the recipient of the Navratna Award - 2018 awarded by Yuma Television. He has featured in a commercial for HDFC Life.
Marcin Tazbir is a Polish chess grandmaster.
Albert Sandrin Jr. was an American chess master.
The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired (ISVI), located in Jacksonville, Illinois, is a state-operated pre-kindergarten, elementary and high school for the blind and visually impaired. The school provides educational instruction and other resources for not only its school-aged students but also for persons up to age 21.
Lubov Zsiltzova-Lisenko is a Ukrainian chess player who holds the title of FIDE title of Woman International Master. She won the Ukrainian Women's Chess Championship in 1978 and is a two-time Women's Chess Olympiad individual gold medal winner.
Jessica T. Lauser /LAWser/ is a visually-impaired American chess player and the current, 5-time reigning U.S. Blind Chess Champion. She is the first-ever woman to win the national championship for blind and visually-impaired players, which she’s done every year, since 2018.