“Phones on silent please,” whispers a volunteer, as this writer is ushered towards a hall packed with chess players crouched over their boards.
Once inside, banners on the walls indicate the significance of the event – the 12th IBCA World Junior and Women Chess Championship.
Clearly, it’s a world championship, playing out at a prominent hotel in the heart of Bangalore.
But upon entering the lobby of the hotel, there is hardly a mention of the competition unfolding at the venue.
There are no youngsters scampering with their chess boards seeking autographs and barring an obscure standee at a corner, it is impossible to tell that a World Championship is underway.
A little strange, one would imagine.
For a nation basking under the recent triumph of the men and women at the Chess Olympiad, surely there ought to be a bit more fanfare.
But there is a slight difference, one involving sight, or lack thereof.
The World Championship being held in Bangalore is for the blind and the visually impaired.
With pride comes peril
“It a moment of pride of us,” says Kishan Gangolli, the Vice President of the All-India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB), the governing body managing the sport for the visually impaired in the country, in a conversation with The Bridge.
And there is enough reason for it given that the event being held in Bangalore is the first instance of the championships traveling outside of Europe since it was first held, way back in 1951.
India, however, is no stranger to organizing global chess competitions for the visually impaired.
The 2006 World Championships for the blind was held in Goa and thereafter, the 2012 Chess Olympiad for the visually impaired was held in Chennai.
“By conducting these events frequently, we have become better at it,” says a beaming Swapnil Shah, Treasurer of the AICFB.
Pride aside, pulling off an event of this scale is no mean feat.
No money for blind chess
“India taking up this very important tournament was a big challenge,” says Gangolli, a visually impaired chess player himself.
At the outset, AICFB had to earn the trust of the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), the apex global body for blind chess.
With that being achieved over a period of time, the problem now is one of finances.
Gangolli, an eight-time National Champion and a gold medalist in the 3rd Asian Para Games 2018, had to put a pause to playing competitive chess and since January this year, has been working tirelessly towards the organization of this tournament.
According to him, sponsorship is the biggest hurdle.
“We did not get enough sponsorship to make this event successful,” says the 31-year-old, with a shrug of the shoulders.
“We approached both the central and state governments, but we did not get a sponsorship.”
While the Central government did give administrative approval, they did not open up their purse.
Similarly, the Karnataka government offered a cold shoulder as well.
“We approached the state government too but nothing positive came out of that,” says Gangolli.
And what about the private companies, enquired this writer. After all, Bangalore is the Silicon Valley and the start-up capital of the nation.
“We approach many IT companies in Bangalore. I don’t want to take their names but we could not get much support,” says a bemused Gangolli.
The question, therefore, is obvious, how is the AICFB able to pull off a World Championship event featuring players from eight different countries?
Kishan Gangolli won gold for India at the 3rd Asian Para Games 2018. (Photo Credit: Special Arrangement)
Breaking the bank
“We started a crowdfunding campaign and got some money,” explains Gangolli.
According to him, while the small contributions did help, more would undoubtedly have helped.
Per the IBCA guidelines, World Championships are to be conducted mandatorily at five-start hotels that are within a 50-kilometer radius of an international airport.
And bigger the city, higher are the expenses.
Accommodation, transit and other expenses only skyrocket when hosting the event in a metropolis like Bangalore.
“We could raise only 8 lacs for this tournament,” says Gangolli, mentioning that a couple of sponsors did eventually come on board.
That said, the organizers are unable to break even.
“Even now, we are running in losses. About five to six lacs in losses. The final amount (of deficit) we will know only when we do the billing of the hotel after the tournament,” Shah says, with arms raised as if having surrendered to the elements.
And when pressed about the means they used to fill the gap, Shah is quick to respond.
“For this tournament, we had to break the federation’s savings Fixed Deposits. There was no other option. If there was (adequate) sponsorship, we could have made ends meets and we could have saved the FD and now (only) after breaking it, we are able to run the tournament.”
The concern is written large on their faces.
In organizing the 10-day event, the federation is clearly punching above its weight.
“I’m doing this voluntarily, there’s no benefit for us. But instead, we’re losing 10-days from our work,” says Shah, who hold a job with the government of Maharashtra.
Swapnil Shah was one of the first visually impaired chess players to represent India at international competitions. (Photo Credit: Special Arrangement)
So, why do it then?
For Shah, a visually impaired player with a FIDE rating of 1777 and an individual silver medal from the 2022 World Team Championships, the motivation stems from a passion to foster the sport amongst the visually impaired fraternity in the country.
“People are coming from abroad to play here. It’s great. If someone comes up to us and says the arrangement is good, we are happy that something positive is coming out of the our efforts.”
While the Indian chess fraternity is boisterous and upbeat about the future of the sport in the country, the visually impaired chess fraternity, blindsided by circumstance, cuts a forlorn figure.