Asian Chess for Visually Challenged Inaugurated
Manipal: The International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) Asian Chess Championship for the visually challenged 2017 was formally inaugurated at the Dr TMA Pai Hall, KMC Manipal here on Wednesday, March 22. The first round of the championship will begin tomorrow as teams from Yemen and Philippines are expected to arrive later today. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are here. The Championship hosted by Manipal University is being oorganised by the All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) under the aegis of IBCA and All India Chess Federation.
On the occasion, Prakash Jayaramaiah, of Ramanagaram District who was the vice-captain of the Indian cricket team for the blind, which defeated Pakistan in the final of the T20 World Cup, and, Samarth J Rao a Class 10 student of Government High School Honnavar, Uttara Kannada district were honoured.
Jayaramaiah is an opening batsman and wicketkeeper who won man of the match for his unbeaten 99 runs in the final. He also won the “Man of the series” for his consistent batting performance. Samarth is originally from Kundapur. He has brought laurels to the state by winning the silver medal in the national-level Physically Disabled Chess Championship held at Tiruchirapally, Tamil Nadu in April 2015. He has also won the bronze at the International Physically disabled Chess Association (IPCA) 2015 World Individual Chess Championship held at Slovakia in June 2015 and World Individual Chess Championship at Serbia in July 2016.
Manipal University Sports Council Secretary Dr Vinod Nayak welcomed the gathering and Dr K Rajgopal Shenoy Vice President United Karnataka Chess Association gave an overview of the championship and a brief on how the visually challenged play chess. Kishore Alva, executive director Adani, UPCL lauded the efforts of Manipal University in hosting an event as important as this and extended all support for the championship.
Pro Chancellor Manipal University, Dr H S Ballal in his address called upon all concerned, corporates, organizers, media and others to encourage and promote chess. “ Cricket gets a lot of importance in this country and most other games are ignored,” he said. “The visually challenged or the specially abled do not require sympathy. They require opportunity. That is why we are hosting this chess championship,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Charudatta Jadhav, vice president IBCA spoke about the game for the visually challenged in the country. He recalled the progress made over the years and said that India launched a chess software for the blind in 2006. “Today, more than 30 countries are using this software,” he said and added that the internet radio would be used extensively by players to sit at home and study moves and train. He however, regretted that the players were not getting due recognition from the government. “When our players perform well at international levels, we do not get the same kind of recognition the players of other games get,” Jadhav said.