Blind Chess Olympiad Blind Chess Olympiad The Blind Chess Olympiad is an international chess competition for the blind in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event takes place every four years, and is sponsored by the International Braille Chess Association. The Blind Chess Olympiad is the largest sporting event in the international field of chess for the visually impaired. The forerunner to the Blind Chess Olympiads was a blind chess tournament held in Rheinbreitbach, Germany in 1958. The winner of the event was Reginald Walter Bonham, who would found the International Braille Chess Association. The first official
Chess Olympiad was offered by the English magnate Frederick Hamilton-Russell as a prize for the 1st Olympiad (London 1927). The cup is kept by the winning team until the next event, when it is consigned to the next winner. The trophy for the winning women's team is known as the Vera Menchik Cup in honor of the first Women's World Chess Champion. The 2010 Olympiad was held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The 2012 Olympiad was held in Istanbul, Turkey, the 2014 Olympiad was in Tromsø, Norway. The 2016 Olympiad was held in Baku, Azerbaijan. In addition to competition, each Olympiad also gives opportunities