International Braille Chess Association (IBCA)

Welcome to the official IBCA website

FIDE (Federation internationale des échecs) is the supreme body for chess amongst the sighted. Similarly, the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) is the supreme body of chess for the blind and visually impaired and is in turn affiliated to FIDE.

Rest in peace Dr. Jorgen Magnusson (President IBCA)

Dear IBCA Members,

It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our President, Dr. Jorgen Magnusson, who left us after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Dr. Magnusson was not only a devoted leader of the International Braille Chess Association, but also a man of vision, integrity, and deep commitment to the global chess community-especially to players who are blind and visually impaired. His tireless efforts significantly advanced the mission of IBCA and strengthened its presence around the world.

Under his leadership, our organization grew not only in structure, but in spirit. He believed in unity, inclusion, and the transformative power of chess. His legacy will remain with us in every initiative we continue and every player we support.Read More

Ukraine Relief 2023

As early as March 2022, the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) unequivocally condemned the Russian Federation’s unjustified war on Ukraine and took
strong actions against participation of Russian athletes and officials. Read More

Online Chess Tournaments for Visually Impaired

Disclaimer : The table below informs about online chess tournaments for visually impaired chess players. They are not run by IBCA, but are important for many of our players.

Name	Organizer/List Owner	Contact	Mailing list	Website	Platform	Description
Braille Chess Band Arena	Orhan Yeter	yeter.orhan@gmail.com			Lichess	Every Saturday at 17:00 UTC
Chess Queens	Marilyn Bland	tinkerbelltx@hotmail.com	chessqueens@googlegroups.com	https://ajedrezclasico64.blogspot.com	Skype, Lichess	Swiss tournaments for women
Dama y Rey	Mario Montalvo	superfoxpro@gmail.com	ajedrezclasico64@googlegroups.com	https://ajedrezclasico64.blogspot.com	Lichess	Swiss tournament
Dark Squares	Curtis Cockayne	BLUESKYS012@AOL.COM			Email, Skype, Lichess	Email, Swiss, Round Robin, classical and rapid
La Scalata	Massimo Maccaferri	mm@umor.it	https://www.lascalata.net		Skype	Ladder tournaments
Saturday Golden Moves Arena	Mario Montalvo	superfoxpro@gmail.com			Lichess	Every Saturday at 22:00 UTC
skype_chess	Mahendra Galani	galani@gmx.at	skype_chess@googlegroups.com		Skype, Lichess	Swiss and round robin tournaments, classical and blindfold
Tournoi francophone	Sindy Gagnon	sindytournoi@hotmail.com	tournoifrancophone@googlegroups.com	http://www.open-aurec.com/Skype/index_en.htm	Skype, Lichess	Swiss and round robin tournaments in French
TournoiSkype	Olivier Deville	odeville@open-aurec.com	tournoiskype@googlegroups.com	http://www.open-aurec.com/Skype/index_en.htm	Skype, Lichess	Swiss tournaments
World Chess Parlor	Johannes Grib	johannesgrib@gmail.com	chess@freelists.org	World Chess Parlor	Skype, Lichess	Swiss and round robin tournaments, classical and chess960

How Visually Impaired Play Chess ?

The Chess Board of 64 squares has the following modifications:

All the Black squares are raised about 3-4 mm above the white squares. 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 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.

2023 IBCA European Team Chess Championship Closing Ceremony Highlights, Genova Italy (Copyright (C) Fabio Rosetto)

Poland wins IX IBCA World Team Chess Championship

Top Teams

Olympiad Champion Russia
Poland
Serbia

Top Individual Players

World Champion Nikac Predrag, Montenegro
Alexey Smirnov, Russia
GM Marcin Tazbir, Poland

Top Women Players

World Champion WIM Lubov Zsiltzova-Lisenko, Ukraine
FM Teresa Debowska, Poland
WCM Anna Stolarczyk, Poland

Top Junior Players

World Champion Adam Czajkowski, Poland
Soundarya Kuma Pradhan , India
CM Mirko Eichstadt, Germany

Upcoming Events

News

Obituaries

Accessible YouTube Channels

Here we send links to YouTube Channels that are accessible, no matter you are sighted or not. We hope that the list of such channels will grow by time.