CHENNAI: On Saturday, several cars and buses travelled to Mahabalipuram, carrying thousands to a cavernous venue for the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022. Unbeknownst to many, in much more humble but no less impressive settings across the city, was another gathering of chess players fighting their way to first place at The South Indian Level Chess Tournament for the Visually Impaired. Hosted by Nethrodaya, a self-help institution for people with disabilities, the competition witnessed over 200 visually impaired players from across the country for the one-day tournament.
“The idea is to send across a strong statement to the government, bureaucrats, and policy makers that when they come up with a such a high profile event, there should be something equally done for the disabled as well. The visually impaired do not get any concessions and play by the same rules as sighted people. When that is the scenario, they should be encouraged to participate and world class tournaments should be hosted for them (as well),” founder C Govindakrishnan told CE.
The third floor of the home was abuzz with activity. It accommodated several rows of tables, draped in chequered cloth, on which special boards were set and where players sat in anticipation. Benches lined the periphery, inviting visitors to look in on the games as an elevated stage at the head of the space highlighted the guests for the inauguration. Justice M Dhandapani lit the lamp to flag off the event, in the presence of musician C Sathya and vice president of All India Federation for the Blind (South Zone) Kishan Gangolli.
Making a point
Players were paired off to compete in rapid-fire rounds according to their scores. People had travelled across statelines for this event, Govindakrishnan informed. Despite this determination, the current state of affairs for visually impaired chess players is less than ideal. “While there are some facil ities, there is no sensitisation and it is not localised. There are training modules in English, French, Italian and German but we need to have them in ver nacular languages so that i t can reach even the last person who is keen to play. Furthermore, there are few coaches.
Then, there are also people who wonder why I am spending money on this and insist that I should concentrate on vocational training, but to me, everything is important and this gives them happiness,” said Govindakrishnan. An d wh i l e things are still moving at a snail’s pace for the community, there have been several changes too. Kishan highlights the initiatives and programmes that the All India Chess Federation for the Blind has taken up to ensure an increase in the interest and training for players.
“We’ve launched the Udaan programme that provides free online training for 200 players of all levels around the country. We have 15-20 coaches and are also working on an Internet library that will contain record classes that they can refer to in case of doubts. So, if someone is a beginner, they can use the information to move on to the next level. I have also written 18 books (on chess) with the help of our president, Charudatta V Jadhav, who has also worked on several software for the blind.
We have also introduced Chess Moves (an app to play with friends), Anaylze This (an app to analyse their games and positions), and iChess (on which they can solve puzzles), in association with My Chess App company. However, there is still a lot to be done.” He has been invested in the game since the age of 11, when he was trained by a visually-impaired coach, and participated in the tournament organised by Nethrodaya a few years ago. “Nethrodaya is the only open tournament (for the visually impaired) where the top players of the country play. (Otherwise) we usually have to play with sighted people for the experience,” he added.
Winner, winner
As the evening moved towards its close, the winning spot was a toss up between Chennai’s Hariharan Gandhi and Andhra Pradesh-based Venkat Reddy. With five wins each, the two competed head-to-head in a tiebreaker, that also resulted in a tie! The winner was then decided by coin toss, in which Hariharan stood victorious. The 26-yearold is a state champion and will be playing for Tamil Nadu at the national level. “Overall, I have participated in 50 national open tournaments and about 15-20 blind tournaments.
(At the Netrodaya tournament), at the final toss, I called heads and thus won but I do wish there could have been some extra rouds to determine the winner instead,” he opined, on his way back from a cricket match where he also won ‘Man of the Series’. He was given the prize and Rs 20,000 by chief guest P Geetha Jeevan, Minister of Social Welfare, Tamil Nadu. While having done well over the decade with his performance (he started playing in 2012, in Class 11), he admitted that he wishes some scholarships or employment were offered to national players as a way of encouraging the sport among the visually impaired community.
“Usually in special schools, children are engaged in academics and outdoor sports. Few even know about chess. The game is about strategy, tactics, domination and if you are taught this step by step, you will gain interest. If you just give them the board and tell them to play, they will get bored,” he said. At the end of the day, this tournament is not a gathering of chess players but the beginning of a movement. “Many people are sceptical and think this is a waste of money, time and energy but once they start performing…seeing is believing.
People who are watching the tournament may want to host themselves and that is my dream; not just for me to do this. There are so many organisations for the visually impaired in Tamil Nadu and we should all try to compete. People attending the function ask me how blind people can even play chess. How low is the awareness in the general public? Today is an eye opener,” concluded Govindakrishnan.
Decades on the board
The event was attended by septuagenarian Rajan Kunnumpuram, who has been playing chess since 1960. He lost his vision at the age of four due to smallpox but took up the sport with the help of his friends who taught him the rules. Eventually, his love for the sport led to the establishment of Kerala Chess Association at which he served as president for over 20 years. The association conducted tournaments, sent Kerala-based players to national/state competitions and also produced their own chessboards for the blind. Despite having played the game for over six decades, he continues to coach students and spread the love of chess.
As Nethrodaya hosts the South Indian Level Chess Tournament for the visually impaired, founder C Govindakrishnan and Kishan Gangolli of the All India Chess Federation for the Blind reveal the status of support for visually-impaired chess players in the country