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]
History
editThe 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]
Results
edit| # | 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] |
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c Blind Chess Olympiads History Retrieved September 7, 2009
- ^ a b XIII Olympiad for Blind and Visually Impaired Chess Players Archived August 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 7, 2009
- ^ Reginald Walter Bonham at ChessGames.com Retrieved September 7, 2009
- ^ a b 1st Blind Chess Olympiad: Meschede 1961 Retrieved September 7, 2009
- ^ 13th Blind Chess Olympiad: Heraklion 2008 Retrieved September 7, 2009
- ^ 13th Blind Chess Olympiad at the Merseyside Chess Association Archived August 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 7, 2009
- ^ "IBCA Chess Olympiad for Blind and Visually Impaired: Russia carries the day". FIDE. October 29, 2021. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.