CHESS:

BRIDGING
THE GAP

Ryan Paisano

Table of Contents
1

Abstract
2
Introduction
..3-5
Methodology
.6-7
Recommendation
...8-9

Abstract
The purpose of this report is to look at how the
game of chess can be used to enhance social
inclusion. During my research I found that chess could
be used as a base model for the purpose of giving the
blind a way to compete with those who are not vision
impaired. For this report data has been gathered from
those who play board games from three different
venues. The paper will discuss the limitations that
visually impaired individuals face in their every day
activities due to their visual disability. The paper will
also talk about what aspects of the game of chess that
prevent the visually impaired from fully enjoying the
game. I will also discuss other studies and the strides
they have made in regards to design of the board and
the advantages and the limitations of these designs.
The overall purpose of this paper is to develop a way
to give the visually impaired the opportunity to
enhance their social inclusion by being able to play
chess with both blind and those who can see.

CHESS: BRIDGING
THE GAP
R YA N PA I S A N O

Introduction
Sight is considered one of the most important of all the senses. It
helps people interpret the world around them through visual cues
given by another person, be it facial or body language. Vision allows
one the ability to appreciate art the beauty of a flower or seeing traffic
coming and knowing whens its safe to cross the street. The inability to
see could also led to social isolation. Visually impaired does not always
mean a person is completely blind. The individual may have some
visual ability to see shadows or light but not have the ability to see the
details of an object or person.
Complete and total blindness is when an individual has no perception
of light. A variety of special facilities have been designed to help blind
people and others who suffer from visual impairments live more
independently and ensure their safety (Lovelock, 1995; Tuttle & Tuttle,
1996; Visually Impaired, 2011). Such facilities generally rely on blind
peoples senses of hearing and touch. The elements used in these
facilities provide us with good examples of how blind people can obtain
information (Lovelock, 1995). There are many systems in place to help
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the vision impaired through out society. For example traffic signs have
information printed in Braille and many have audible signals to indicate
where the crosswalk is as well as when it is safe to cross. Universal
design is a concept with seven key principals (The Center for Universal
Design)

Principle One: Equitable use;

Principle Two: Flexibility in use;

Principle Three: Simple and intuitive use

Principle Four: Perceptible information;

Principle Five: Tolerance for error;

Principle Six: Low physical effort;

Principle Seven: Size and space for approach and use.

As you may be aware of chess is a game with a very long history. The
game of chess is thought to have originated in what is now northern
India or Afghanistan sometime before 6OO AD: the oldest written
references to chess date from then, but there are unverified claims
that chess existed as early as 100 AD. The KING at the right is part of a
set of pieces dating from about 1200 AD found in a robbers' stash on

the Isle of Lewis, northeast of Scotland.UWWUHistory2016 (UWW).

The version of the game we know and play today is not the original
version. There have been many adaptations since its birth hundreds of
years ago. The game of chess is the most played game all over the
world. The rules of chess are universal it that the object of the game is
the same in China as well as in
Sweden. For this reason chess would
be a logical choice to use as a
benchmark board game to attempt to
design it for universal use. In 20082010 Professor Kin Wai Michael Siu is a
Lab Leader of the Public Design Lab, School of Design, at Hong Kong
Polytechnic University conducted a case study with blind people.
The project team first conducted a general
study of general daily practices and modes of
communication among blind people. The team
subsequently focused on blind peoples
particular needs and practices related to
playing chess. Semi-structured interviews were
conducted to gather information on blind
peoples backgrounds and views. Observations
on how blind people played chess were then
conducted, and their detailed body movements
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and patterns of verbal communication were

recorded. (Siu 191)
The study shows how the blind move about and adapt to
the world of the seeing and that further accommodations
must be made to ensure we live in a truly inclusive society.

Methodology
Step One:
The first step I took was to look for a game that was universally
understood with rules and b game lay out that could not be changed
without changing the meaning of the game.

Step Two:

The next step was to look at other board games to see if there were
any aspects such as game pieces or board textures that would help the
blind to enjoy the game along side seeing players.

Step Three:
I conducted a survey wth owners and managers of local venues where
board games were played. The survey asked the owners if they had
ever heard of chess boards for the blind and if they were willing to
purchase these boards.

Survey

yes
no

Step Four:

Look for venues similar to the ones surveyed and gather if the
initiatives to incorporate blind board games were a success or failures.
Then to find the cost of these blind chessboards to make sure they
were not going to cause the shop owners to not want to purchase
them.

Recommendation
1. Set standards and rules that are followed by all players
2. Design chess pieces and game board that are universal i.e. size,
shape and feel.
3. Easy for new player to use
4. Low cost and easily massed produced

The rules and standards are established for all players

throughout the world by The World Chess Federation

(Echecs). The rules for playing the game are the same for
both seeing and non-seeing players.

The feel of the game must remain constant; the look of the
board and pieces will not change. Changes to texture and
elevation to the colored squares allow the vision-impaired
players to compete with seeing players on a level playing
field. Materials used for the opposing pieces will have a
texture that will allow the blind player to immediately
differentiate between their pieces and their opponents.

Seasoned blind players do not have the same challenges that

a new player will have. Seasoned player have memorized the
placement of the pieces. Newer players do not have this
advantage, the newer design eliminates these challenges and
helps to foster the social interaction intended for the game.

The newer design does not require the manufactures to

deviate far from the original process. Original pieces are very
smooth and polished over and over. The new design requires
that one set be left coarse.

The blind still face many challenges in their daily lives even
with all the efforts put forward to include them in as many
social activities. Much more education is needed to ensure

the general public of these challenges. I believe this is where

the game of chess can be a major catalyst in this effort. The
game of chess may seemingly be a small effort in the
attempt to improve the social inclusion of the blind; the game
of chess is played all over the world by millions of people.

Your business can foster this movement by purchasing some

of the vision-impaired chessboards. As stated before the
boards are not much more than and average set and are far
less than the higher end boards. Holding tournaments to
announce the new additional to your chess collection could
potentially bring new players to your establishment which
could also bring higher revenues.

Final Recommendation
This paper was written in the hopes you and your company will take
the opportunity to make a difference on the lives of many people in our
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community and potentially around the world. I do realize this is not the
end all fix all with this small implementation; however the impact it
could have to make our society an inclusive world for all has no limits.
Thank you for your time in reading this proposal.

WORKS CITED
Echecs, Federation Internationale des. World Chess Federation. 1 January
2015. 29 april 2016 <https://www.fide.com>.

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Siu, Kin Wai Michael. "Enhancing Social Inclusion: Universal Chess Design
For Blind People." International Journal Of The Humanities 9.1 (2011): 187196.
The Center for Universal Design. Universal design principles. 1 january
2008. 29 April 2016
<www.ncsu.edu/www/ncsu/design/sod5/cud/about_ud/udprinciples.htm/>.
UWW. History Of Chess. 25 April 2016. 28 April 2016
<http://math.uww.edu/~mcfarlat/177.htm>.

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