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Journalism of Courage
Mumbai, June 30: There was a time when you could have taken Charudatta Jadhav for a crank. That was three years ago, when he raved about integrating all the blind chess players in India; when he ranted about nestling India on the world blind chess map.
Now, when he talks of dreams, ambitions and projects, you feel sheepish for having doubted him the first time. The past three years has seen him transcend from a National champion, to becoming the founding secretary of the Indian Blind Chess Federation, to representing Asia at the World Federation. He hopes to host the first Asian Championship; he is unfazed that India is currently the only Asian member of the World Body.
Jadhav leads a four-member team for the World Blind Chess Championships in Benasque, Spain, from July 5-15. The other compatriots are reigning National champion Vilesh Bhatt, National runner-up Madan Bagayatkar and Shirish Patil. The foursome will later also represent India at the World Blind Chess Team Championships, in Poland from August 28.
Two years ago in Spain, Jadhav and Bagayatkar finished 34th and 55th respectively in a field of 86. For a man who loves to dream big, Jadhav does not expect miracles this time, either. “We cannot expect even a top-10 effort. The competition is high, with eleven International Masters (IMs), one woman IM and around 30 Elo-rated players.”
To illustrate his point, Jadhav says a World Blind Chess team was entered at the World Chess Olympiad two years ago. “The Blind team drew 2-2 the Indian squad, comprising GMs Dibyendu Barua, Pravin Thipsay and K Sasikiran. That is the standard.”
Jadhav, who won Indian blind chess its first and only medal by finishing second at the Irish Open in 1998, says it would be more reasonable for Indian players to aim for a Elo rating.
But winning at competitions is not the only preoccupation of this Indian Bank employee. He has designed a syllabus that offers chess as a compulsory school subject from Standard V in all schools, blind and sighted. Citing Russia’s success, he points to multiple benefits, besides producing endgame executives, increased concentration, improvement in studies and enhanced decision-making. “I have written a text-book for Standard V. It includes the basics of board position, preliminary mates and opening game principles and traps.”
While he hopes to approach the government, he hopes individual schools especially private schools would take the initiative. “One school in Dombivli has already introduced chess as an optional subject. A blind school principal in Madurai wants to see the syllabus, too,” he says proudly.
Like everything he said in the past, the project sounds ambitious, even if school children this writer spoke to welcomed the idea with loud choruses. But Charudatta Jadhav has this uncanny habit of pulling rabbits out of the hat.
Fact file
Achievements and Awards: National champion 1998; Irish Open silver medallist, 1998; Represented India at World Championships in 1998 and 2000; Named best person promoting sports for the blind in India, 2000
Posts:
Secretary, Indian Blind Chess Federation; Asian representative, World Blind Chess Federation; Founding editor of First Move, India’s only chess magazine for the blind
Other interests: Member of the world’s first Himalayan expedition for the blind in 1992, where he successfully scaled Shitidhar (17,220 feet).
