On International Chess Day, on July 20, the Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC) organised a chess competition, in collaboration with the Kolkata District Chess Association and Nadia District Chess Association, for individuals with visual and hearing impairments. The tournament saw around 80 participants across two categories and was played over five rounds. Participants came from various districts of West Bengal, including Darjeeling and Nabadwip
Photos: Soumyajit Dey
A visually impaired participant makes a calculated move. The tournament was played in a league format with 5 rounds, each lasting 20 minutes. Participants played 5 games in total, and their performance was judged based on these games. Atin Sengupta mentioned, ‘We would have had about 25 more entries but there are exams going on at the Jadavpur University, so we couldn’t have representation from there. We aim to set up free chess coaching for these children to help them showcase their talents, but we need sponsorship to make this happen’
The competition was divided into two categories — one for those with hearing impairments and another for those who are visually challenged. Talking to My Kolkata, Atin Sengupta, the Secretary of the Kolkata District Chess Association, shared, ‘We organise many tournaments throughout the year, but we wanted to celebrate International Chess Day in a special way. So, we arranged a competition for the visually and hearing impaired. KCC supported us immensely by providing the venue and lunch for free. We have about 60 visually impaired and 20 hearing impaired participants from districts like Darjeeling, Asansol, Nabadwip, and several local areas’
Eleven-year-old Ayush Manna was all smiles throughout the day, especially when he won his matches. Winning 2 out of 3 matches, Ayush, a Class-V student from Calcutta Blind School, had a great time at the event. ‘I have been playing chess for a year now and I really enjoy it,’ he said. Ayush is visually impaired, and when quizzed how he identifies the different pieces and colors, he explained, ‘The knight is shaped like a horse, while the rook has a round top. We identify the colors by the dots on the top of the black pieces, while the white pieces are smooth’
Another young participant seemed to have a ball. My Kolkata also spoke to Richa Agarwal, the Chairperson of KCC and Emami Art, who said, ‘We are really overwhelmed and excited to celebrate International Chess Day with such an event. We did not want to charge anything. We wanted to give these participants the chance to experience something like this and seek joy out of the event’
Paromita Ghosh (in red) is a national-level chess player with a hearing impairment. We spoke to her with help from her coach Niloy Chakraborty, acting as the interpreter. Paromita, a mother and homemaker, has been playing chess for over 15 years. She praised the competition at KCC as well-organised and a great initiative — providing an opportunity to play against strong competitors. Paromita is a bronze medalist at the national level and competes in tournaments whenever she can, supported by Niloy
Elaborating further, Niloy Chakroborty said “I have been coaching visually and hearing impaired individuals for over 30 years now. I have coached the Indian team and taken them to Mongolia as well. I am the chess teacher at quite a few schools in Kolkata. I do teach general individuals as well but I get a different satisfaction while coaching those with disabilities. It is very hard for them to get sponsors and not too many stand by their side and support them. From organising 4-5 tournaments a year to travelling with them for national and international tournaments, I do everything possible to help them’
Sagnik Halder secured first place in the hearing impairment category, with Ankit Ganguly taking second and SK Reazur Rahman finishing third after five rounds. In the visually impaired category, Sougata Chowdhury came first, Ganesh Kisku second and Megha Chakraborty came third after a long day of competitive chess action at the Kolkata Centre for Creativity
