New software launched

An innovative software to help visually challenged people learn, practice and play chess without any outside help has been brought out by the Tamil Nadu Chess Association. This would complement the existing Kurzweil software used by visually challenged chess players, S S Pandiarajan, general secretary of the association said.

Kurzweil speaks aloud in a variety of natural sounding voice, he said adding the new software reads printed chess literature, converts it to audio output and makes use of Kurzweil to read aloud. It would be a boon to new players who need not rely on external help to read available literature to hone their skills.

The software also helps the player use productivity tools to communicate with the computer and enhance their skills, say experts. It also contains a list of visually challenged chess players all over the state.