When Kuwar Pal plays chess, his palms move over the board. That’s the way he keeps track of his opponent. After a five-hour match, Pal says checkmate. Victory is sweet, says the 18-year-old visually challenged student.
Chess is becoming popular among visually challenged students of the country thanks to a Rs 60-board made by an institute in Dehra Dun. ‘‘No person, sighted or blind, can cheat me during a game,’’ says Pal, who is practising for the Blind Open Chess competition. The event is being organised by the National Blind Youth Association (NBYA) this weekend.
‘‘It is a greater challenge to play with sighted people because they think that we can’t manage. However, teaching a sighted person chess gives me most satisfaction,’’ says Pal, who played at the national level in 2001.
‘‘I taught a sighted boy back home in Haridwar and now can beat me,’’ says Pal, who is in Class IX of the Senior Secondary School for Blind Boys, Kingsway Camp.
The students play chess in between classes and often bet on food for fun. Pal says he plays chess to prepare for his Math exams. Moving both his hands over the wooden pieces, he explains how he manages the game.
‘‘The white pieces have a little pointed top but not the black ones. The white squares are carved in, leaving the the black squares raised,’’ says Pal, and then explains the special move of every piece.
‘‘The horse is the most intelligent player, I like making most of my moves with it,’’ he says.
Pal’s opponent Gyanendra Avasthi, 17 is silent during their game. ‘‘It is a mind game and I don’t feel that we are at a disadvantage. The only drawback is that we don’t get enough encouragement,’’ says Avasthi.
‘‘We are trying to get some coaching for them but the funds we have for cultural and sporting activities in the entire year is barely Rs 80,000,’’ says Virendar Kumar Yadav, member NYBA.
Yadav says that last year there were 90 participants at the open chess competition and the figure will be more this time.
Pal and Avasthi have a mentor—Vishwanathan Anand. ‘‘He has done us proud, and wish that some day we too will play for our country too,’’ says Pal.