Visually challenged are game for playing chess

Hyderabad: Ram, makes a loud sound after a move and the opponent shakes his head in approval. Instead of writing the move on a score sheet, the visually impaired player writes the move in Braille or records the moves on a tape recorder. Ram is not just one blind player who is hooked to chess but there are close to two dozen of them at the Devnar Foundation for the Blind who are locking horns with other players from across the country at the All India chess tournament for the blind at the foundation.

Blind chess, one of the trending and attention-grabbing board game in Hyderabad. Devnar foundation for blind founded by Dr Sai Baba Goud is conducting 'All India chess tournament for the blind' from 1 may to 5 may 2019,completing its 9 years . Nearly 130 players are participating from all over India from 13 states including AP, Telangana, UP, Puducherry, Odisha , Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar and Goa. "This is a great platform for children to showcase their talent and we here at Devnar foundation encourage them to improve their skills," said Rama Krishna AO of Davnar foundation.

Many questions arise, how do they play? , Do they have a different set of rules? Are they informed about their opponent's moves? Do they have to go under some special training? Is that even possible? Yes, it is possible. The visually challenged are doing it, and their game is mesmerizing. They practice and are trained for years, their game is all about visualization, imagination, calculation, and touch.

The player, therefore, by feeling the raised or the lowered can figure out whether the pieces are on a black or a white square. By feeling the shape of the piece, they can determine whether the piece is a Pawn, Rook, Bishop, Knight, Queen or King. The touch of the pin on the pieces helps the player from distinguishing a white piece from a black one. The player is therefore able to have a clear picture in their mind of the position on the board.

All the black pieces have a pin fixed on their heads helping the player to distinguish between a white and a black piece. All the black squares are raised about 3-4 mm above the white squares. By feeling the squares, the player is able to determine whether the square is black or white, each of the squares on the board has a hole in the center so that the pieces can be fixed in these holes. Each of the pieces has a downward projection (nail) at the base, which fits into the squares on the board, thereby fixing the piece securely on the board.

"The most difficult part of the game is that they have to imagine or visualize the whole board, their movements and the movements of their opponent," said Sameer, a couch. The player is allowed to touch the board before making his move, the rule remaining almost the same as the regular chess, if the player raises a piece he is ought to make his next move with it.

The player has to go under the training period of 1-2 years to know the game and to play it by the rules. If the player is completely blind they are given the freedom to decide if they want a person to tell them the moves of their opponent. If the person is used to or trained with the old chess board he is allowed to use another chess board that follows the old pattern. "The game is the same, the rules, movement of the pieces, the structure of the keys. Calculation is the key to their game, steps taken, placement of pieces, and difference between the squares between two pieces. If they get confused once they can lose the whole game" he added.

Many visually challenged are being trained to play chess, many visually challenged schools and colleges are now taking interest in training the children and encouraging them to participate in such competitions. Couches are being appointed to improve their skills with passion and patience. "No matter how much we train them, it's a difficult game in the end," he said.

By Maina Manga