Chess Tournament For Visually Impaired Takes Place

A chess tournament for blind and visually impaired people that has been running for three decades has attracted players from around the world.

The event organised by the Braille Chess Association is taking place in Bournemouth, Dorset.

Competitor Abi Baker said: “I wanted to find something to do which meant I could be relatively good at it without a huge amount of sighted help.”

Taking place in the Marsham Court Hotel until Saturday, Ms Baker is taking on players from as far afield as Austria and the United States.

“If I make a really bad move, it’s a product of my own mind – the wind didn’t put the piece there,” she said.

As opposed to sighted chess, which is played on a single board, each player in the tournament has their own board.

Players announce their moves to each other and replicate their opponent’s move on their own board.

That allows them to keep track of the board by feel – without having to reach over and touch their opponent’s pieces.

The boards are also adapted for visually impaired people, with raised tiles and tactile pieces.

One participant, Marilyn Bland, travelled to the event from Texas in the United States.

“I’m enjoying meeting all the people I’ve been speaking with on Skype over the years,” she said.

“I’ve lost my first game because of an oversight on my part, but I’ve drawn all my other games, so I’m happy so far.”

John Jenkins has organised four of the tournaments so far.

“I’ve been playing chess for 70 years now – probably getting slowly worse,” he said.

“No game is ever the same – I’d recommend it to anybody, particularly for children, because it teaches them so much about concentration and problem solving.

“All of these people are here are blind – but they’re resilient. They just want to get on with it, and they enjoy playing chess.”