Braille Chess Canada

Chess for the blind and visually impaired

The benefits of chess for people of all ages are well established. Chess improves concentration, memory function, spatial and problem-solving skills; builds self-confidence and increases self-awareness; teaches fair play, planning and foresight; helps with socialization; aids with rehabilitation therapy. These benefits are important for both able-bodied and disabled people but they become crucial for the blind and visually impaired.

Indeed, chess is the only sport where blind and visually impaired people can compete against able-bodied people in the same competition, not in a separate Paralympic division. This is made possible by specialized Braille equipment and a section of the Laws of Chess that provides guidelines for accommodation on non-seeing players.

Our mission:

  • Enhance social integration of blind and visually impaired children and adults via the game of chess.

  • Use chess on internationally standard Braille boards as a tool to promote inclusion, education and social development.

  • Advocate for proper accommodation of blind and visually impaired players in "mainstream" chess activities.

  • Facilitate participation of Canadians in international events for the blind and visually impaired.


How do visually impaired people play chess?

Braille Chess Canada also represents Canada in the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), a supreme body in chess for the blind and visually impaired. The IBCA, founded in 1958, counts more than sixty member countries from four continents and is affiliated to the World Chess Federation (FIDE). For more on the IBCA: https://ibca-info.org/

2021 IBCA Chess Olympiad

Thanks to the generosity of our partners and sponsors, in October 2021 we have assembled Team Canada that, for the first time in history, took part in the 16th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind and Visually Impaired 2021 that took place in Rhodes, Greece. Our Member of Parliament of Canada and the Member of the Quebec National Assembly were instrumental in making this complex undertaking a success. The Canadian blind players’ entry onto the world stage was covered in the international media and inside the country.

Braille Chess Canada is incorporated under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, S.C. 2009, c.23, and we are registered with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec with the Quebec Enterprise Number (NEQ) 1177114940.

Contact info: braille.chess.canada@gmail.com