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How do the Visually Impaired play Chess
Do you know how different is a game of chess for visually challenged? How would you play if you were to close your eyes and yet enjoy the game?
It’s simple, albeit a few physical modifications to the equipment:
- In the chessboard, all the Black squares are raised about 3-4 mm above the white squares. The player can feel the raised or the lowered squares to figure out whether the piece is on a black or a white square
- Each of the chess pieces has a downward projection (nail) at the base, which fits into the squares on the Board having a hole in the center
- Through touch and feel, the player can determine whether the piece is a Pawn, Rook, Bishop, Knight, Queen or King
- All the Black pieces have a pin fixed on their heads. The touch of the pin on the pieces helps the player from distinguishing a white piece from a black one
The player is therefore able to have a clear picture in his mind of the position on the Board. The player is now ready to take on any opponent, sighted or otherwise.As per FIDE rules, a player is required to announce every move made, so that the opponent gets to know of the move. When the visually challenged play chess, instead of writing the moves on a Score Sheet, they record the same in Braille or on a tape recorder.
Hi!
This is the first post of the Esha Blog. The place where all of us, as volunteers and as generally around ppl, will put our thoughts out generously..
The reason that this blog took so long is.. i really didn’t know what kind of a blog this should be!
What would you like to read here.. when you come to our blog looking for Esha?
How about I start with interesting stuff being done for the disabled, by normal, ordinary people like you?
Ok, lets start with this one:
Several of my friends are involved in a project called ‘Chatterbox’ where a weekly newstape is put together by volunteers reading from the local paper. This is distributed to people whose sight is not good enough for them to read.
The sight mentioned mainstream schooling for blind/visually disabled people. In Britain, we have to be as inclusive as possible in our schools (sometimes, in respect of people with learning and behavioural difficulties, beyond the extent that is really feasible) and so simple, practical things like rounding off edges, marking steps with bright tape, enlarging worksheets, enabling the use of laptops, can be very helpful to children with poor sight.
This comes to me from a blog friend – Z .
Z is based in the UK, and runs a charming little family business there with Sage, her husband. (No, his Christian name is not Sage. She just calls him that bcs she thinks he is very wise.)
Tell me what you want to read on this blog, and all of us, the bunch of volunteers, will try and write about that..
