FIDE Online Competitions for People with Disabilities

The FIDE Commission for the Disabled (DIS) has been very active organizing and preparing such competitions as the Confederation Cup for Disabled People and FIDE Chess Olympiad 2020: The Competition for Players with Disabilities. Now that worldwide restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic put over-the-board on a temporary hiatus, DIS is successfully launching initiatives in the online space.

As you know, the first ever registration of players with disabilities was held through national federations in fall 2019. As of now, the master list of 1045 players still features no players from Canada. This is unfortunate, since we have a strong tradition of inclusivity and there are many successful events for non-sighted and hearing impaired players, especially in Québec.

The purpose of this new thread is to encourage interested Canadian players with disabilities (visually impaired, hearing impaired and physically disabled) to register with FIDE DIS in order to "appear on the radar" / be invited to various competitions, and to inform our players about the upcoming online DIS opportunities.

The First FIDE Online Cup for People with Disabilities, an invitational individual tournament in online format, will take place on May 21, 2020.

The Regulations attempt to anticipate and address problems that may arise in online play, and have already contributed to the FIDE Online Guidelines that are being drafted right now.

"During a brief opening ceremony the participants were greeted by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich:

“On behalf of FIDE, I would like to welcome all the players of the first FIDE Online Cup for People with Disabilities… I think it is a great effort by the organizing team and I hope that even in these difficult times, all the players, everyone who is online now can enjoy chess, show the best qualities and prepare for FIDE Olympiad, which will also have a competition for people with disabilities. Good luck everyone, stay safe and enjoy chess.” "

Full news item about the event.

The next among the events organized by DIS is the First FIDE Junior Online Cup for Players U20 with Disabilities that will take place on Sunday, June 21, 2020.

As per a decision of the FIDE Management Board, direct registration of disabled chess players with FIDE has started. Canadian players who missed the registration via the CFC for any reason are now able to register directly through DIS and to take part in their online events. Please see the Regulations for specific instructions.