International Braille Chess Association History of the Organization Compiled and Equiped with Combinding Texts by Hans-Gerd Schaefer Translated by Julie Leonard ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ C H A P T E R V The Specifics ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ As mentioned in previous chapters, children and young people have a basic desire to explore their surroundings as far as they are able both intellectually and physically. Equally, this exploration is an essential part of preparing them for adulthood. In the case of blind and partially sighted people, card and board games of all types play a vital role in the mental challenge, which inevitably takes precedence for them from the time they reach school age. Given the diverse types of electronic entertainment that are available nowadays, it is barely comprehensible that these things could capture the attention of young people to such a degree, but despite this, the attraction has not entirely faded away. Even though chess is not as popular as it was a few decades ago, it is still played in schools, including those for the blind. There are records of chess games, which can be played through and archived to serve the purposes of instruction and study in the future. To record a chess game, the blind generally use a Braille writing frame. Using pre-set forms, this writing tool arranges dots into meaningful symbols, which are based around Louis Braille's original template in the pattern of the six on a die. Admittedly, there are Braille typewriters, which make it much easier for the blind and partially sighted to record their chess games, but these take up a lot of room. The space allotted to each chess player is usually quite small. There is room for a chessboard and, to the right of it, a sheet for each player upon which to record the moves. This space is quite sufficient - for a sighted player at least. But if a person cannot see which card his opponent has played or which piece he has moved on the board, then it has to be announced. This resulted in the need to use two boards for chess matches between blind and partially sighted players as well as those between blind and sighted players. The internationalisation of the chess organisation made it imperative to establish a means of communication so that Russians and English as well as Spaniards and Germans could state their moves and understand the moves announced by their opponents. To this end it was most important for a standardised chess set to be agreed upon since the blind chess player needs to be conversant with his opponent's board as well as his own. Difficulties ensued here, which an onlooker would hardly grasp, and which are illustrated in the following excerpts from the minutes of two previous I.B.C.A. congresses. From the records of the third I.B.C.A. Congress, March 1964 in Kühlungsborn, East Germany: During the debate on the standardisation of playing equipment, it became apparent that there are many different styles of chess sets for the blind. The Yugoslavs have very large boards and the pieces are marked at the bottom. In Austria, England and Ireland, the white pieces are marked, in Germany and the Soviet Union, the black. Similarly, in some countries, it is the white squares that are raised, in others it is the black. It is also evident that no country wishes to give up its customary design. In this respect, however, it is equally obvious that those countries, which still have no standard version of their own would like the I.B.C.A. to recommend a style of chess set. Many countries suggested the FIDE pieces. Anton Hartig (the Austrian representative) advocated the acceptance of an I.B.C.A. approved design. Individual delegations also pointed out the psychological aspect of the problems associated with standardisation. Large boards and large pieces appealed to the partially sighted, whereas the totally blind preferred smaller boards with pieces to match. Furthermore, the partially sighted were in favour of having red pieces instead of black ones as this gives a better contrast for some players. Unfortunately, although this is hardly an unreasonable request, it could not yet be taken into consideration within the I.B.C.A. regulations. Finally there was a vote on whether black squares should be raised and black figures should be marked at the top. This motion was carried. Individual countries promised to try to persuade their manufacturers to comply with this decision. At the 6th I.B.C.A. congress in Seinajoki-Kuortane, Finland, on the 14th of August 1976, it was indicated that the design criteria for the chess set, which is generally recognised today and is familiar to the blind and partially sighted throughout the world, were already well established: Standardisation of playing equipment: The "Playing on two boards" Appendix to the I.B.C.A. tournament regulations stipulates: "The chess board must be at least 20 x 20cm; the colours must be clearly recognisable and the black squares should be raised. The pieces should correspond to the Staunton pattern and the black pieces should be marked." Two sighted players do not need to announce their moves. It is sufficient for the player who is making a move to start his opponent's clock in order to invite the latter to contemplate the move just made and execute one in reply. Alongside the general rules of chess, there are special supplementary regulations that apply to matches between blind players and also to those between the blind and the sighted. FIDE recognised the need for these rules and incorporated them into their rulebook as early as 1954, i.e. before the I.B.C.A. had been founded. These rules then formed the basis for playing on two boards, which is obligatory for the blind and partially sighted. A blind player generally uses a board that is smaller than normal. The rules for playing on two boards are in a special appendix to the I.B.C.A. regulations mentioned earlier, and these were incorporated back into the FIDE handbook with minimal editorial changes as protocol IV. Here it is even specified that the Braille chessboards used by the blind as second boards for them to touch had to measure at least 20 x 20cm. However, it is necessary for the blind and partially sighted to play on two boards since they are forced to ascertain by touch the position of the pieces after each move and the ensuing combinatory possibilities. Therefore, the I.B.C.A. established an appendix to their tournament regulations containing the following rules, which also form part of the FIDE handbook (Protocol IV). Here it is stated: "In I.B.C.A. tournaments, it is compulsory to play using two chess sets, which have been specifically designed for the blind." "Specifically designed for the blind", means that the pieces had to have pegs that slot into holes in the board so that they can be touched without being knocked over and that criteria by which the blind can differentiate through touch between the two colours of pieces and squares must be defined and agreed. It is written: "The colours of the squares must be clearly distinguishable, and to this end the black squares must be raised." "Raised" means that the black squares must elevated by one or two millimetres, depending on the size of the board. The minimum size required for the Braille chessboard was set at 20 x 20 cm for practical reasons, which can perhaps be summarised as follows: a) Whereas the sighted chess player takes it for granted that the tournament organisers will supply the required boards, clocks and score sheets on which to record the moves, the blind player assumes that he himself must bring along all that he requires in order to play chess. One reason why Braille chessboards are small and often hinged so that they can be folded in two, is to allow for easier transportation. Even the I.B.C.A. tournament regulations state: "Every player must bring his own equipment, a chess clock for the blind and writing materials or a Dictaphone." b) When sighted players play against the blind, two boards that comply with the I.B.C.A. rules are set up in the same place designated for the single chess board supplied by the organisers. The blind player then still has to find room for the considerable amount of equipment that he needs in order to record the moves. c) It is understandable that arbiters have problems in recognising positions on such a small board, particularly when they might be partially concealed by the hands. However, the problems of space outlined above, in terms of the lack of room as well as the transportation considerations, make it necessary for the blind to use small chessboards. Incidentally, the 20 x 20cm dimensions of the board in no way lessens its effectiveness as a memory prompt for the blind and partially sighted as they are accustomed to examining a position by touch. It should also be noted that touching the board has a tendency to betray the thoughts and plans of the blind player, and the larger the board, the easier it is for the eye to follow the movements of the hand. The black pieces are marked at the top so that the finger can immediately differentiate between black and white pieces. In the appendix of the I.B.C.A. tournament rules it states: "The pieces should correspond to the Staunton pattern with the black pieces carrying a distinguishing mark." "Staunton" refers, of course, to the famous English chess player whose set of pieces was first introduced in 1848 and is now used throughout the world. Obviously, the drawback of playing on two boards is that it necessitates verbal communication with the opponent. The appendix first of all establishes: "The moves must be clearly stated in the order of being played. The opponent should repeat the move and both players should make the move on their boards immediately." The actual announcement of the move is then precisely defined in order to eliminate as far as possible any potential misunderstanding. The regulations state: "The following system should be used when announcing the moves: a) The vertical lines, seen from White's left to right, are named as follows: Anna Bella Caesar David Eva Felix Gustav Hektor b) The horizontal lines from White to Black have the following numbers: 1-Eins 2-Zwei 3-Drei 4-Vier 5-Fuenf 6-Sechs 7-Sieben 8-Acht c) The following names are used for the pieces: Koenig Dame Turm Springer Laeufer Bauer" So, as agreed, German became the official language for naming the pieces and announcing moves in international I.B.C.A. competitions, while the organisation itself takes an English name, the "International Braille Chess Association". Although these regulations obviously admit no ambiguity, the necessity of announcing the moves means that a considerable risk remains, which must be taken into account in the appendix. With players of differing nationalities and language groups, linguistic misunderstandings cannot be entirely eliminated. The three points listed below address this issue and its implications thoroughly. "A mistake in announcing a move must be corrected immediately and before the opponent's clock is started." Despite great foresight and the use of subtle measures to avoid problems, the communication of a move and the subsequent act of playing it on the opponent's board can lead to differences. In such situations therefore, arbiters must be equipped with some rules of conduct, which entail neutral and mutually acceptable solutions to such discrepancies. The I.B.C.A. endeavours to accomplish this. "Should there be differing positions on the two boards, the arbiter must correct this using the records of the game that have been made by both players. Once corrected, the player who wrote down the correct move but played the wrong one must accept the consequences." "The time used by each player up until the point when the error was discovered is to be divided by the number of moves and reduced accordingly." It is possible that multiple errors will occur and that as a result, the match will take an entirely different course. This must also be taken into consideration: "Should it occur that the records are also different, the moves must be reversed to the point where the two records agree. The arbiter must then reset the clocks accordingly." As blind and partially sighted players can only perceive the position of their pieces through touch, another version of the touch-move rule needed to be established. It states: "A piece is considered 'touched' when it is lifted out of the board." On that basis, the completion of a move is defined thus: "A move is considered made a) when the piece is placed on another square. b) when the player whose move it is removes from the board a piece he has captured." This entire procedure already appears somewhat cumbersome and when one reads the following rule, which is quite unavoidable, it makes one realise that the blind and partially sighted have to accept a large time disadvantage on account of their disability: "Only when the move has been stated may the opponent's clock be started." Next, the Braille chess clock became a mandatory piece of equipment for official I.B.C.A. tournaments, and it is described thus: "It is compulsory to use a Braille chess clock with raised dots at five minute intervals and a line on every quarter of an hour. The clock must also have a flag and hour and minute hands which are robust enough to be touched." In 1994 technical developments necessitated a revision of this rule when the mechanical clock was rivalled by a speaking digital version which announced the time used up by both players. Apart from the fact that the digital clock is far more precise, there was the irrefutable argument of the president of the I.B.C.A. at the time, Delfin Burdio-Gracia, in favour of the speaking clock: "We cannot ignore progress." The digital chess clock has a large display, which is suitable for the partially sighted and furthermore it is equipped with a voice output for use by the blind. Naturally, in order not to disturb the vital quiet in the playing room, the voice can be turned off so that it can only be heard using earphones. Additionally, to allow for the international nature of the I.B.C.A., various languages are available. The minimum language requirement is for English and German, as these are the official languages of the I.B.C.A.. An extension to the rules was phrased as follows: "A speaking chess clock, which uses English and German, or languages that both players understand, may be used in I.B.C.A. tournaments instead of a Braille chess clock. If the two opponents cannot agree on which type of clock to use, the preference of the player with White takes precedence." Of course, this solution is quite unsatisfactory. It allows personal likes and dislikes to play a part and these are not easily put to one side when an "old habit" is discarded. It has taken decades for the blind and partially sighted to become familiar with the chess clock that, when read by touch informs them in a split second how much time they have left. But there are also some quite serious and justified objections to the speaking chess clock. Sergei Wassin, himself an excellent chess player, totally blind and President of the Ukrainian Association of Visually Handicapped Chess Players, commented on this: "The electronic chess clock has some serious defects, which rule out the possibility of its use being made compulsory in official I.B.C.A. tournaments. The blind player has to allow fifteen seconds in order to find out how much time is left because the announcement always wastes time by needlessly reporting whose move it is, whose time is being read out and nearly always the hour from which it is starting. The digital display is unsuitable for the partially sighted, who complain that it is very difficult to read. The manufacturer has paid no attention whatsoever to a very important principle: "The device should facilitate the use of a person's remaining sight whilst at the same time protecting it". In practice, the clock is very complicated to operate and totally blind people are unable to set it. It is a fact that two completely blind players cannot use this clock without sighted assistance. When adjusting the time setting the clock gives no speech or tone signals to the blind person, even though this is well within the bounds of possibility for the technology of today. By combining various announcements and tones the clock must, on request, impart the following information to the blind player: a) There are three minutes remaining until the time control - or else one minute, 54 seconds b) The flag has just fallen c) The time setting has been changed and so on. The clock is not at all reliable! To date, I have twice tried to play with it: once during the 31st FIDE Chess Olympiad in Moscow in December 1994. On both occasions problems associated with the clock arose. Additionally, I must mention that the majority of the I.B.C.A. men's team rejected the electronic chess clock. Therefore I am convinced that in this matter the Congress is in danger of passing a completely arbitrary resolution. The majority of blind and partially sighted chess players will reject this model of the electronic chess clock and will refuse to buy it. It is already obsolete and reflects neither today's level of technology nor the current needs of the blind and partially sighted. It is even less in keeping with the anticipated future developments." The next point in the rules, which is worth addressing, deals with something that is regarded as a routine requirement by all chess players. Once again, one of the special features necessitated by the emergence of national and international blind chess organisations is in evidence. When the I.B.C.A. first began, games were exclusively recorded in Braille. Initially the evolution from the tape recorder to the cassette recorder and, more crucially, the subsequent miniaturisation of the recording device enabled it to be used to record a chess game. The rule is worded as follows: "Every player must keep either a written or a taped record of the game." In the meantime, modern technology has even been used to develop a chessboard that has an integrated clock and can record the game automatically, sending the stored data to a computer if required. Unfortunately, such a board is not yet available for the blind and partially sighted. The manufacturers maintain that the projected number of sales would not be sufficient to meet the production costs. The next regulation has often been applied already by mutual agreement between the affected player on the one hand and the opponent or tournament controller on the other hand and even in this form it has proved very worthwhile. "Players who have only recently lost their sight, or who have multiple disabilities which make it impossible for them to perform the usual tasks, may, with the agreement of the tournament director, ask for an assistant to a) make the moves on the board, b) start the clock, c) record the game, d) tell the player, when requested, how many moves have been made and how much time has been used by both players." The fact that it was as late as the 10th Congress in Ca'n Picaforte on Majorca (Spain) 1992, when the next and last point was added following a proposal from the British Braille Chess Association, gives a small insight into the difficulties that can arise even within an organisation like this, as "blind" does not necessarily always mean totally blind: Partially sighted players have the right to request additional lighting if the light at their board is insufficient. Despite all the obstacles listed here, playing chess is the source of much happiness amongst those who have to examine their boards by touch. Moreover, we hope that the "Fédération Internationale des Echecs" will increase the opportunities available to the blind and partially sighted to be able to enjoy playing chess, by incorporating the specific rules that apply to blind and partially sighted players into their own regulations and distributing them to the FIDE Arbiters. There are a few experienced I.B.C.A. Arbiters, who appear at the larger I.B.C.A. tournaments time and time again. The I.B.C.A. is much indebted to these people. Yet unfortunately, one hears from time to time that the blind and partially sighted are discriminated against in a significant way. I am writing this by way of an appeal both to those responsible and to their instructors, not to focus on superficial considerations. Instead, let the importance of enjoying chess outweigh the small inconvenience of having to use two boards so that the blind and partially sighted can play against one another and more particularly against sighted opponents in an integrated tournament. The blind or partially sighted chess player, who has already paid for his playing equipment himself, has had to carry it with him to tournaments and has then had to play at a table where space is often so very restricted, still has other considerations to bear in mind: He is dependent on having a guide for travelling to the tournaments as well as for all manner of everyday assistance. This means that it is necessary for a second person to travel with him and stay in the same hotel. Roughly speaking, this doubles the cost of taking part in a tournament for chess enthusiasts who are blind or partially sighted. So alongside the physical obstacles, there are also significantly higher financial costs, which must be met by the blind or partially sighted chess player who wishes to indulge his hobby. Nevertheless, there are still chess players who do precisely this. ========================