217 visually-impaired chess players participated in the 4-day residential tournament hosted by Hyderabad's Devnar School for Blind.
Marimuthu K receiving the winner's trophy, cash prize and a certificate from Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya. (Supplied)
When 21-year-old, visually-impaired Marimuthu K came to Hyderabad from his hometown of Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, on 29 April, his only focus was to win the open chess tournament for the second time.
On 4 May, Muthu — as he is fondly called — became the first player in the decade-old history of the tournament to achieve that feat. He won it for the first time in 2018.
Held at Devnar School for the Blind in Begumpet, 217 visually-impaired players participated in the four-day residential tournament hosted by the school itself in a joint effort with the All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB).
The Tamil Nadu chess prodigy expressed happiness after receiving the winner’s trophy and a certificate from Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya.
“I am happy that I broke the record and won it again. Last round (9th round) was a really fighting game. But I am happy that I won it,” an elated Muthu, who has represented India in four chess tournaments, told South First.
The runners-up trophy was won by Somendra from Delhi along, while Sirish Patil from Maharashtra finished third.
Players at the open chess tournament. (Ajay Tomar/South First)
There were 24 awards in the ₹1 lakh cash prize tournament. While Marimuthu won ₹20,000, Somendra and Sirish were awarded ₹15,000 and ₹10,000, respectively. The rest was divided among the remaining 21 awards.
With a total of 15 women players participating in the tournament, West Bengal’s Megha Chakraborty finished highest among them at 7th place.
The tournament also saw the likes of Asian Para Games silver medalist Mohammed Salih (Kozhikode) and Ashwin Makwana (Baroda), also an international player, participating.
The four-day International Chess Federation (FIDE)-rated national open chess tournament was held from 30 April to 4 May.
Of the 217 players eyeing that podium finish, 67 were already FIDE-rated at the nine-round tournament in which players from 18 states across India — highest from Maharashtra — took part.
“As the school works for the development of blind children, that was one of the reasons that the tournament was started. This time, we received a huge response as the competition was held after a two-year break owing to the Covid-19 pandemic,” chief arbiter (referee) Manjunath Murthy, who was also a part of the organising team, told South First.
Somendra from Delhi (left) and Sirish Patil from Maharashtra at the award ceremony. (Supplied)
The tournament is an apt opportunity for unseeded visually-impaired chess players. “They get to play against FIDE-rated players and win points for their own rating,” AICFB Treasurer Swapnil Shah told South First.
Started in 2011 with around 100 visually-impaired chess players, Shah and his colleague Madan Bhagatkar (AICFB vice-president) were elated because the competition saw a record 425 online entries this year.
“In the whole world, no other FIDE rating open tournament for the blind has been organised with these many participants. Even Russia is behind us,” Bhagatkar, a registered player himself along with Shah, told South First.
Shah, in fact, won this same tournament in 2015.
A chess game for the visually impaired differs in several ways from a regular chess game, and is governend by the regulations of the FIDE-affiliated International Braille Chess Association (IBCA).
A chess board for visually-impaired players. (Ajay Tomar/South First)
The black squares are raised about 3 to 4 mm above the white squares. A player is able to determine whether the square is a black or a white one by feeling the squares.
All the black chess pieces have a pin fixed on their heads, which helps a player distinguish between a white and a black piece.
Each of the squares has a hole in the centre so that the pieces can be fixed in these holes. while all the pieces have a downward projection (nail) at the base. It fits into the hole in the squares on the board, thereby fixing the piece securely on the board.
After every move, the visually-impaired player is required to announce the move aloud, so that the opponent knows the move. Instead of writing the moves on a score sheet, the visually-impaired player writes the moves in Braille or records the moves on a tape recorder.
75-year-old K Rajan was the oldest player. (Ajay Tomar/South First)
It was tough to predict the winner on the third day of the tournament as both Somendra and Muthu were level at seven points right after playing a draw.
However, with five points, 75-year-old K Rajan, a retired school teacher from Kasaragod in Kerala — the oldest player in the tournament — was aware that he would not get his podium finish.
“I always stay interested in playing chess, especially with youngsters. The prize money does not matter to me. I will continue playing till my last breath,” an energetic Rajan, who was the president of the Kerala Chess Association for the Blind for 25 long years, told South First.
6-year-old Ansh Makwana (with his parents) was the youngest player. (Ajay Tomar/South First)
Meanwhile, contrary to everyone’s expectation, six-year-old Ansh Makwana — the youngest player in the tournament and son of Ashwin Makwana, who also participated in the event — was also trading moves at the tournament along with his parents.
“I feel good coming here,” a shy Ansh told South First, while hiding behind his mother.
Second place winner Somendra threw light on how the tournament has increased its stature over the years.
“Earlier it used to take place at the ground floor. Only the top 10 players used to play on this floor (third floor). So the facilities have improved very much,” Somendra, who recently represented India in the World Team Championship (held at Macedonia) along with Muthu, told South First.
While the AICFB provides technical support for the tournament, Devnar school takes care of the logistics.
As per the AICFB officials, the federation receives no financial grant from the government. “The tournaments for visually-impaired chess players only happen when we can find a sponsor,” Swapnil Shah said.
Runner-up Somendra (left) and Marimuthu K. (Ajay Tomar/South First)
A common feeling that prevails among these players is the lack of support from the government. “While a sighted chess player gets government jobs and other facilities, there is no such provision for visually-impaired players,” Shah added.
In fact, Mohammed Salih started an online petition in November last year seeking a job from the Kerala government. The petition was addressed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Sports Minister V Abdurahiman.
However, when South First spoke to Abdurahiman on a previous occasion, he said that the government does not have a policy to reward para athletes. “The policy allows to reward athletes who excel in Asian Games and Commonwealth Games,” he pointed out.
However, without getting affected by this, Marimuthu, Megha, and Somendra are now gearing up to represent India in upcoming international chess tournaments.
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