Chess

The Braille Chess Association of Ireland was established in 1985 to promote Chess among the blind and partially sighted. The BCAI is affiliated to Irish Blind Sports, the International Blind Chess Association and the Irish Chess Union.

Chess is said to be one of the few sports where blind and visually impaired players can compete independently and on equal terms with their sighted counterparts, indeed players often reach very high levels in Chess, with some even attaining Master standard.

The player uses an adapted board, with the white squares slightly lower than the black. Each piece has a peg at the bottom, which is inserted into a hole in the centre of the square on which it stands, so that it remains steady while the position is being examined manually. Also one set of the pieces have small dots on the top, so that they can be distinguished from the other set. Opponents use separate boards and call the moves to each other. At international level where there is no common language, the German algebraic notation is used. A club player may use a Braille clock and a small tape recorder or Braille device for noting moves.

The BCAI organises teams and individuals to represent Ireland at international level. At home they hold their own Irish Championship and this is used as a basis for team selection. In addition to the Championship there is a very successful International Tournament with players coming from many parts of the world to participate. So if you think Chess is for you, check us out mate!

Braille Chess Association of Ireland
http://www.bcai.net/

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January Chess Tournament winners, Edinburgh