HYDERABAD: On a day when Vishwanathan Anand won the world chess championship for the fifth time, as many as 106 visually impaired players competed against one another at the all-India chess tournament here at the Devnar School for the Blind on Wednesday.Twenty of the players are currently ranked with the world chess federation body and Darshan Patel was the top seed at this tourney as he has 1838 points.With age being no bar, children too got into the fray in right earnest and took on much older opponents.The tournament, which ends on June 3, has attracted players from 13 states.Unseeded players have the opportunity to get a ranking if they win against ranked players and as for seeded players, it is a chance to climb up the ladder.The Devnar Foundation for the Blind in association with Amway Opportunity Foundation and All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB), are organising this FIDE Rating National Open Chess tournament for the visually challenged.“I started playing in tournaments since I was 21. Before that I used to play just to pass time,” said Ravindre Shirkar, a physiotherapist from Mumbai.Sudep, a first-timer from West Bengal, said this was a refreshing event for him.The second year B.A honours student plans to play more tournaments and get a world ranking.For those who are wondering how visually impaired people can play chess, the board and the chess pieces are tactile in nature, allowing the players to recognise the board and its components.The black squares of the board are raised unlike the white squares so that players know where to place their pieces and each square has a small hole in which the chess pieces are fixed.Speaking about the event, Padma Sri Dr Saibaba Goud, founder-chairman of the Devnar Foundation for the Blind, said, “We are overwhelmed with the kind of response we have received for this event.Our objective is to provide a platform for the visually impaired to showcase their talent besides helping them build confidence and develop competitive spirit.Besides playing at national level, this tournament will enable them to participate in international competitions based on their FIDE ratings.” To participate in the event, players must be certified by the district health officer that their eyesight is below 5 per cent.However, some of the participants in the tournament are completely blind.The 5-day competition was inaugurated by MPs Madhu Yashki and Manda Jagannatham.
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