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Rising to the challenge

For these students overcoming a handicap is as easy as playing the game to perfection

Twenty-year-old Shiva Shekhar bagged the top spot in the South zone chess tournament for the visually challenged which was conducted by the Devnar Foundation for the Blind at Begumpet recently. G. Sreedhar was second and E. Deekshit was third. All these boys are from A.P. A total of 88 players from six states A.P., Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Pondicherry and Goa took part in the tournament, played over seven rounds.

Shiva Sekhar who has been playing chess for five years now, has twice finished as the runner-up in the Nationals under-18 tournaments and has bagged honours for Osmania University as well as the Nizam College.

Bound for Greece

"I am now preparing for my next tournament which will be the World Championship for the Blind which is to be held in Greece from June 28. I will be the only player from India who will be taking part in that tournament so I am determined to perform well."

The second placed G. Sreedhar is a 17-year-old who took up the game three years ago. His notable feats include finishing third place in the under-18 category on two occasions.

E. Deekshit who came third is only 13 years old but already has played in several tournaments and has proved that he is a player with a lot of potential. Playing in the national championship last year he came fifth and got the runner-up spot in tournaments at Dehra Dun and Kolkata earlier this year.

The confidence of these boys and their mastery over various moves on the board is remarkable. The only difference in the rules is that they are allowed to touch and feel all the pieces to understand the exact positions of the pieces on the specially designed chessboards. The boards have holes in the middle of each square into which the pieces can be placed. By feeling with their fingers, the players are able to understand where the pieces are positioned and which squares are vacant.

The top ten players from this tournament will play in the national championship for the visually handicapped which is to be held at Delhi in a few weeks time according to Dr. Sai Baba Goud, Managing Trustee of the Devnar Foundation. The students of the school are encouraged to take up sports such as chess and cricket. Students from this institute have played in chess tournaments all over India and also in Europe and have even got the better of normally sighted opponents on many occasions. Those who preferred cricket have also got the opportunity to play against rivals from Pakistan.

"Where potential is concerned, there is no difference between normally sighted people and our students. All they need is an opportunity to prove themselves," says Goud.

ABHIJIT SEN GUPTA

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