The IMSA Family
Within IMSA, poker and eight diverse mind sports come together to celebrate the power of the human mind. Discover these captivating mind sports and celebrate the intellect, skill, and passion that unite them within IMSA’s global family.
FIDE - International Chess Federation
Chess, often considered the ultimate test of strategy and intellect, is a timeless mind sport that has captivated minds for centuries. Players engage in cerebral battles, planning moves ahead and navigating intricate tactics on a chessboard.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the governing body of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess competitions. Constituted as a non-governmental institution, it was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a Global Sporting Organization in 1999.
FIDE currently has its headquarters in Lausanne, but it was initially founded in 1924 in Paris under the motto “Gens una Sumus” (Latin for “We are one Family”). It was one of the very first International Sports Federations, alongside the governing bodies of the sports of Football, Cricket, Swimming, and Auto Racing.
It is now one of the largest, encompassing 199 countries as affiliate members, in the form of National Chess Federations. Chess is nowadays a truly global sport, with dozens of millions of players in all the continents, and more than 60 million games on average played every day.
World Bridge Federation
Bridge is a card game that demands mental agility, teamwork, and intricate communication. It’s a sport where partnerships strive to outmaneuver their opponents through skillful bidding and card play.
The World Bridge Federation was formed on 18th August 1958 in Oslo, Norway, by delegates from Europe, USA and South America.
It is an International Federation recognised by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and full member of the ARISF (Association of IOC Recognised International Sport Federations) and SportAccord (the umbrella organisation for all, Olympic and non-Olympic, international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international associations).
The WBF has shown strong and steady growth and its membership now comprises 116 National Bridge Organisations (NBOs) with approximately 1.000,000 affiliated members who participate actively in competitive bridge events (locally, nationally and internationally).
The International Go Federation
The International Go Federation
Go, an ancient board game from Asia, challenges players to control territory through strategic placement of black and white stones. It’s a game of profound depth and endless possibilities.
Since the beginning of the last century the game of Go has spread around the world. In the Americas this development started in Brazil and the USA. In Europe Go was introduced in Germany and the Netherlands. The European Go Federation was founded in 1959.
In particular, Japan has supported the overseas promotion of Go. A major turning point was the organisation of the first World Amateur Go Championship in 1979, supported by the Japanese government, the Nihon Ki-in and Japan Airlines. This event brought together the top players and officials from the major Go-playing countries. This gathering led to the founding of the International Go Federation on 18th March 1982, with 29 founding members.
The International Go Federation is a founding member of International Mind Sports Association and was granted full membership of SportAccord (ex GAISF) on 7th April 2006 at the 40th General Assembly in Seoul, Korea, a step which should help IGF members in seeking membership of their respective NOC or national sports authority. Provisional membership had been gained on 20th May 2004.
International Esports Federation
eSports is a contemporary addition to the world of mind sports, where professional video gamers compete at the highest levels. It’s a dynamic field that tests reflexes, strategy, and teamwork in various virtual arenas.
Way back in the ancient days of 2008, IESF (International Esports Federation) was born. Starting with a humble 9 member nations in 2008, IESF has managed to expand that number to 130+ member nations today! The first ever event hosted by IESF was the “IeSF Challenge” held in 2009. Since then, IESF has hosted more than 13 World Esports Championships and supported numerous regional qualifiers. The ultimate goal is to create more opportunities through bigger and better events each year!
Throughout the year, IESF organizes a series of tournaments and events, proudly hosting the annual World Esports Championship, the place where the elite esports athletes from across the globe, fostering an environment of fair and elite competition.
As with many new things, esports needs more time to truly be accepted around the world, but we will soon get there! The future is looking much brighter than it did in the prehistoric days of 2008, and looking ahead we might even see the very first e-lympics! If we keep working hard and together as a community, we will be able to achieve the unimaginable!
Mahjong International League
Mahjong is a tile-based game that combines skill and strategy. It’s a popular pastime that engages players in a quest to form winning combinations of tiles.
The Mind Sport of Mahjong goes back as far as the Qing dynasty and has accelerated in growth since the early 20th century.
Mahjong is played between four players and is like the Western card game of rummy. There are some variants of the game and some countries like Japan and South Korea play with three players. Overall, it is extremely popular in Eastern and South Asia and over the last few decades, has gained a big following also in the Western nations.
The Mahjong International League (MIL) was founded in 2015, and it was registered in Lausanne, Switzerland. MIL was set up to govern the game and to grow it internationally.
The 1st World Mahjong Sports Games (WMSG) was held from 24 to 28 October 2015, in the city of Sanya, Hainan Province, China.
Bo Tang from China won the individual competition, and Team Chinese B won the team competition.
In 2023, the headquarters of the FMJD will be transferred to Lausanne (Switzerland), the world capital of sport, reinforcing the global dimension of our federation.
World Draughts Federation
Draughts, also known as checkers, is a game of pure strategy and anticipation. Players aim to capture their opponent’s pieces while strategically positioning their own in this captivating board game.
The FMJD (Fédération Mondiale du Jeu de Dames) was founded in Paris in September 1947 by four national federations: France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. Its main aim was to regulate world championships.
The first international tournament however was played in Amiens (France) in 1885, and since 1897 the World championships have been held between France and the Netherlands. The increase in membership and the desire for more regular and better-regulated competitions led to the creation of an international organisation initially called the FIJD (Fédération Internationale de Jeu de Dames).
Since its creation, the FMJD has grown considerably and spread to every continent (Africa, Asia, North America), with 74 countries currently represented. World championships are regularly organised in various categories (men/women, youth, veterans) at different game rates.
Federation of Card Games
Established in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Federation of Card Games (FCG), is an international association established by uniting multiple regional card game organizations. In April 2018, FCG became the official member of IMSA.
FCG, adhering to the Olympic spirit of ‘mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity and fair competition’, aims to promote the culture of mind sports as the mission, based on the principles of fairness, justice and equality, deeply combined with Internet, big data, artificial intelligence and other high technologies, together build the federation of ‘Globalization, Sportification, Diversification and Systematism’, to promote the development of mind sports, make people from different countries, different races, different languages, different religious beliefs enjoy the pleasure of Card Games, striving ultimately for the inclusion into the Olympic Games .
FCG has already expanded to over 42 countries in across multiple regions.
At present, the events that FCG carried out include: Gin Rummy, Guandan, Two Against One, and Open Face Poker.
World Xiangqi Federation
Xiangqi, or Chinese Chess, is a captivating variation of the game known for its distinctive pieces and rules. Players engage in battles of wits, aiming to checkmate the opponent’s general while protecting their own.
The World Xiangqi Federation was founded in April 6, 1993 during the 3rd World Xiangqi Championships in Beijing, China. The day marks the new era for Xiangqi to march onto the world.
It was back in October 1988, during the 4th 7-Star Tournament, the World Xiangqi Federation Preparatory Committee was formed to lay a foundation for the official inauguration. During the preparatory period which lasted for more than four years, two World Championships were organized first in Singapore then in China’s Kunming. Also in that period, our fellow xiangqi friends in different parts of the world made great efforts to start establishing xiangqi organizations in Europe, America and Australia to work together with the Asian Xiangqi Federation. The Preparatory Committee held meetings from time to time to speed up the process and when the condition was ripe, the World Xiangqi Federation was found.
These mind sports, each unique in its own way, come together under the umbrella of IMSA to celebrate intellectual competition and showcase the power of the human mind.
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