In 1985, organisers of a district-level chess tournament in Maharashtra were faced with a rare conundrum — a blind player. Charudatta Jadhav hadn't asked for any concessions, he simply wanted to play a worthy opponent.
That year, he not only played his first professional tournament but also went on to play an almost evangelical role in the promotion of chess in the country. "It was a turning point," says Jadhav, 45, who helped establish All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) in 1997. "Chess is perhaps the only game where a blind player can play with a sighted one on level ground, because the mental processes (of visualising and strategising) require resources available to both," says Jadhav, who heads the organisation.
There are more than 4,000 blind chess players in the country, of whom about 1,000 participate in tournaments and 66 have secured international rankings. AICFB took the Queen and her troops to schools and hobby clubs, offering free training and material, and organising tournaments.
"Chess gives blind players confidence in their own competency. This confidence can direct and encourage their professional lives as well," Jadhav says. "People think chess for the blind is nothing more than a sport. But it is."
Chess for the blind deviates from the regular game in a few ways: the black squares on the board are raised 3- 4mm above the white; all the pieces have a small peg at the base which fits into a slot in the square; and all the black pieces have a projection on the head to distinguish them from the white pieces. When they sit to play, each player is required to call out his/her move so it can be recorded by the opponent in Braille or on a voice recorder.
"When I played in the 80s, the only boards available for the blind were manufactured by National Institute for the Visually Handicapped (NIVH)," says Jadhav. Now, AICFB manufactures boards, which it distributes free of cost to schools, and at discounts to individuals. The availability of audio books, screen reading software, and Braille reference books have upped players' game. There's even chess freeware for the blind that Jadhav, a software engineer at Tata Consultancy Services, developed.
Shekhar Sahu, who coaches the national (sighted) chess team as well as blind players, draws up the differences in their approaches to the game. "The latter are more focused and sincere. They're ambitious and direct all their energy at mastering the game especially because many of them are financially constrained and don't want their efforts to go to waste," he says.
Unlike mainstream chess, which is supported by the government, chess for the blind gets scant assistance. Blind chess players are not recognised as sportspeople. "If we were, we'd have job benefits and concessions available to other sportspeople," says S Nagendran, an officer at the Pattabiram branch of Indian Bank.
Blind chess players from India have been winning international tournies from the year they were granted affiliation to the International Braille Chess Association in 1998. That year Jadhav won a silver at the Irish International Championship; in 2000 Madan Bagayatkar won bronze on second board in the 11th Chess Olympiad, and in 2008 Shrikrishna Udupa won gold at the 13th Chess Olympiad. AICFB has dispatched teams on 12 occasions to participate in various editions of the World Chess Championship.
The sport may not have government backing, but it does have the support of two of India's favourite sportsmen — Sachin Tendulkar and Vishwanathan Anand, both of whom dropped in at the press conferences of the 14th Chess Olympiad for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Chennai last year.
Dr K Muthuraman, associate professor of history at Thiru A Govidasamy Arts College, has played against Anand in 2003. "It was a friendly match in his house with Anand blindfolded," says Muthuraman.
"We played without a board, and called out the notations of our moves as we pictured the game in our heads. It was challenging as we had to remember our own moves and those of the opponent. Anand won the game." But Muthuram still got the prize.
Source : TOI , 7th Nov 2013
That year, he not only played his first professional tournament but also went on to play an almost evangelical role in the promotion of chess in the country. "It was a turning point," says Jadhav, 45, who helped establish All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) in 1997. "Chess is perhaps the only game where a blind player can play with a sighted one on level ground, because the mental processes (of visualising and strategising) require resources available to both," says Jadhav, who heads the organisation.
There are more than 4,000 blind chess players in the country, of whom about 1,000 participate in tournaments and 66 have secured international rankings. AICFB took the Queen and her troops to schools and hobby clubs, offering free training and material, and organising tournaments.
"Chess gives blind players confidence in their own competency. This confidence can direct and encourage their professional lives as well," Jadhav says. "People think chess for the blind is nothing more than a sport. But it is."
Chess for the blind deviates from the regular game in a few ways: the black squares on the board are raised 3- 4mm above the white; all the pieces have a small peg at the base which fits into a slot in the square; and all the black pieces have a projection on the head to distinguish them from the white pieces. When they sit to play, each player is required to call out his/her move so it can be recorded by the opponent in Braille or on a voice recorder.
"When I played in the 80s, the only boards available for the blind were manufactured by National Institute for the Visually Handicapped (NIVH)," says Jadhav. Now, AICFB manufactures boards, which it distributes free of cost to schools, and at discounts to individuals. The availability of audio books, screen reading software, and Braille reference books have upped players' game. There's even chess freeware for the blind that Jadhav, a software engineer at Tata Consultancy Services, developed.
Shekhar Sahu, who coaches the national (sighted) chess team as well as blind players, draws up the differences in their approaches to the game. "The latter are more focused and sincere. They're ambitious and direct all their energy at mastering the game especially because many of them are financially constrained and don't want their efforts to go to waste," he says.
Unlike mainstream chess, which is supported by the government, chess for the blind gets scant assistance. Blind chess players are not recognised as sportspeople. "If we were, we'd have job benefits and concessions available to other sportspeople," says S Nagendran, an officer at the Pattabiram branch of Indian Bank.
Blind chess players from India have been winning international tournies from the year they were granted affiliation to the International Braille Chess Association in 1998. That year Jadhav won a silver at the Irish International Championship; in 2000 Madan Bagayatkar won bronze on second board in the 11th Chess Olympiad, and in 2008 Shrikrishna Udupa won gold at the 13th Chess Olympiad. AICFB has dispatched teams on 12 occasions to participate in various editions of the World Chess Championship.
The sport may not have government backing, but it does have the support of two of India's favourite sportsmen — Sachin Tendulkar and Vishwanathan Anand, both of whom dropped in at the press conferences of the 14th Chess Olympiad for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Chennai last year.
Dr K Muthuraman, associate professor of history at Thiru A Govidasamy Arts College, has played against Anand in 2003. "It was a friendly match in his house with Anand blindfolded," says Muthuraman.
"We played without a board, and called out the notations of our moves as we pictured the game in our heads. It was challenging as we had to remember our own moves and those of the opponent. Anand won the game." But Muthuram still got the prize.
Source : TOI , 7th Nov 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment