11th IBCA World Women’s and Junior Chess Championships open in a medieval French town

The International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) is the supreme body responsible for chess for the blind and visually impaired. The IBCA is part of the International Blind Sports Federation and an Affiliated Member of FIDE. Founded in 1958, the IBCA has grown to more than sixty countries on four continents. Its major competitions include the Blind Chess Olympiad and the Blind World Chess Championships.

The 11 th IBCA World Women’s and Junior Chess Championships for the Blind and Visually Impaired take place in Castelnaudary, France, on July 10-17, 2022. The competitions are organized by the IBCA, the French Blind Chess Association, and the Maison d’Échecs de Toulouse Lardenne. Both events are played as 9-round Swiss system tournaments. The participants represent 18 federations from three continents. Players use specialized Braille chess boards, talking clocks, and voice recording equipment.

The opening ceremony on July 11 th featured Mr. Patrick Maugard, Mayor of Castelnaudary; Mr. Philippe Greffier, President of the Unions of communes Castelnaudary Lauragais Audois (CCLA); Dr. Charudatta Jadhav (IND), the IBCA President; Ms. Diana Tsypina (CAN), the IBCA 2 nd Vice-President; Mr. Pierre Leblic, President of the Ligue Échecs Occitanie; Mr. Guy Spanghero, owner and general manager of the IBIS Style hotels; Ms. Sabine Chabert, Ms. Nicole Cathala, Ms. Valérie Gomez, authorized representatives of municipal agencies in charge of tourism and the affairs of the disabled.

The ceremony started with a live rendition of the French anthem. Then, Mayor Patrick Maugard welcomed the participants to Castelnaudary and reminded them of the rich history of the province of Lauragais and the Occitane region. The world capital of Cassoulet is opening its heart for the disabled players today. He highlighted excellent collaboration between the IBCA, the organizers and local authorities that made it possible for the participants to meet in Castelnaudary in person and to enjoy chess. Mme Clementine Kruk and Chief Arbiter Mr Stephen Boyd (FRA) read the heartfelt welcome message from Mr. Bernard Duthoit, President of the French Blind Chess Association, who sadly couldn’t attend in person due to COVID-19.

The IBCA President Dr. Charudatta Jadhav thanked the French authorities, the local organizers, and the IBCA Board members for all the hard work they put into finessing the regulations and finalizing the preparations. When we were looking for a venue for this competition, we were immediately won over by the enthusiasm of the teams from the town of Castelnaudary, led by Mayor Maugard, and from the Union of communes Castelnaudary Lauragais Audois, led ny Mr. Greffier and Ms.