Hi All,
A quick note: I have added the blind-chess list which I inadvertently left off
my initial post. Since this post is relatively comprehensive of the discussion
thus far, I hope those who aren’t familiar with the discussion will read all
the way down. And I hope you will all help me build a comprehensive list of
blind US chess players. Nobody has such a list: not USBCA, not USCF,, Nobody.
Nor do we have a single-point source for chess-related information. Somebody
wants to know about clocks; somebody wants to know about tournaments; somebody
wants to know if there are any other blind players in their local area. I think
it would be helpful to have some kind of comprehensive list. Meanwhile, to an
important response…
Thanks Jim S for your response. As we speak, a letter is being drafted to the
USCF regarding essentially the state of our national tournament with some
suggestions for improving things. It very likely will include the suggestion to
consider a skype-based venue. I think there are pros and cons to such a shift.
Here are my observations.
I do agree that we would likely get better participation, and I think that
controlling cheating is possible. It is at least as possible as it is in any
other venue. No venue is totally immune. But here’s my concern, for what it’s
worth. Several of us have played many, many mainstream tournaments. And I
suspect that virtually all of us who do play mainstream tournaments have had
this experience: We are the only blind person in the tournament. I would have
to do some serious counting to figure out how many tournaments I’ve played in
over the last 45 years, but, setting aside our national tournament, only once
have I played in a tournament where there was another blind player. Henry
Olynik and I both played in the Mid-America Open in St. Louis this past March.
So what? So, how many blind chess players actually play in tournaments? US
players, I mean. We blind chess players know that blind people can and do play
chess. But does the rest of the world know that? And if we go to a skype-based
venue, making it just that much easier to play chess among ourselves, are we
not actually moving toward separation rather than integration into society
where chess is concerned? Much ado about nothing? Maybe.
Are there really just not that many blind players interested in tournament
competition?
Is it really just a matter of health and finances that deters people?
We’ve had a number of tournaments in Findlay, Ohio, in San Antonio, Texas,
where we had twenty-plus players. We can speculate about why that has changed.
But a good deal of time, effort, and money gets spent each year putting on our
national event, and the event just isn’t representative. Like I said, I’m not
the best player in the country. Obviously, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever have a
tournament that includes everyone. That’s not the point. The point is, are we
reaching those people who are interested? And are we doing the right things to
make our national event as available as possible to all interested players?
So far, I’ve had four responses, including one from Grandmaster Timur Gareyev.
Here’s what he had to say, for those who might have missed it. Incidentally, I
know this is getting long, and I know we all have things to do. Heaven knows I
do! But in rereading Timur’s letter, cutting anything seemed to detract from
the overall message. So I chose not to cut.
Wonderful tournament with intense fighting chess!
I especially enjoyed the first round battle Alex faced Jim. Alex used Smith
Morra Gambit and gained massive edge in development. Jim bravely accepted
second pawn sac and managed to hold a tough defense despite Alex' overwhelming
initiative. As Jim pushed back and activated his pieces, tables turned, and
Alex made a decisive mistake in time trouble despite good chances in the
endgame.
This brings me to my first observation of how engrossed the players are, truly
using the time and meditative resources. I know Jim gave great comments on my
blindfold chess display facing 7 players at the opening ceremony. I admired the
tenacity and intense grasp on situations at hand which eventually gave the
participants best chances to hold their games in the simul. My admiration for
Jessica's dynamic style, and Al's perseverance in continuing the battle despite
the defensive challenges.
Just about each one of the rounds in the championship took up the full allotted
time control. I feel like towards the end of the match the complexity surely
does not subside, however managing the play in time trouble for blind players
is especially tough. I think 90 minutes plus 2 minute increment starting with
move 1 is a better time control which would allow players to take their time
and more fully utilize their vision and ability to focus when the fatigue is at
its greatest.
I know the players are forming a discussion on the best ways to practice and
stay consistent with their game. Surely it helps to combine the online play
with matches in person at competitions around the US and the world; however
challenging and potentially volatile travel may be as is and especially for
blind people. Say, Jessica had her baggage misplaced by the airlines. Marck
Cobb a former president, good friend, and sponsor of Karpov Chess School took a
trip back to Wichita Airport and returned the suitcase back to Jessica the
following day.
And he closed by wishing us luck in chess and life. His would seem to be a vote
for both online and in person competition. I hope you all will continue to help
me reach more blind players, and I hope you will all help craft a successful
plan for enhancing our chess experience.
Thanks!
Jim T
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2017 2:52 PM
Subject: [ftp-chess] United States National Tournament
Hi Jim Thoune and others,
Congratulations again!
I suggest that the U.S. Braille Chess Championship be played on Skype.
There is a United States Chess Federation precedent for this.
The Champion of Champions Tournament was played online.
These were the fifty state champions.
Of course, there are some advantages of face-to-face play.
However, many of our players do not have the money, time, or health to go to a
central location for a weekend.
The health issue is especially important.
In a way, having a central weekend location discriminates against players who
have other disabilities that make it difficult or impossible to attend.
The USBCA has hosted realtime over-the-board tournaments.
If it does not want to host the national championship, I am sure that another
group would do it.
Best wishes,
Jim Slagle
Phone 301 254 7571.
--------------------------------------------
On Wed, 9/20/17, JT <hazelnutt2001@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Subject: [usbca_chess] USBCA National Tournament
To: ftp-chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, autter0211@xxxxxxxxx,
aimeibee@xxxxxxxxx, "'Paul'" <aerospace1028@xxxxxxxxxxx>, "'Jeffrey Turner'"
<jturner522@xxxxxxxxx>, "'Jeff Siebrandt'" <chessmaster444@xxxxxxxxx>,
"'Matthew.Gibbons12@xxxxxxxxxxxx'" <matthew.gibbons12@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "'ajpietrol'" <ajpietrol@xxxxxxxxxxx>, aschlank@xxxxxxxxxxx, "'J. Lauser'"
<jtlauser@xxxxxxxxxxx>, akarpovkschess@xxxxxxxxx
Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2017, 3:01 PM
Hi All, First, many thanks for the
nice words. Small as it was, it was still an excellent
tournament with some very respectable chess being played.
And I can’t say enough about the Karpov School, the
support they provided, and the very generous gift of
time, effort, and expense bestowed on us by the school and
by Grandmaster Timur Gareyev. Al mentioned previously that
he is rated 2615. It is also worth noting that Timur is
among the top 200 players in the world according to
365chess.com. And he travelled from Moscow, and I do mean
the one in Russia, not one of the towns in the US of the
same name! And he came to spend two days with us and had to
leave at 3 in the morning to fly, ultimately, back to
Russia. All of this sets a very high bar to which I
sincerely hope we will aspire. And perhaps I should
clarify—I am not talking about trying to reach such an
elevated rating—although it would certainly be nice!
But I am talking about we, the US blind chess players,
placing the same importance on our participation as the good
people at the Karpov School apparently do. I know I speak
for the other three players when I say we are extremely
grateful and humbled by the attentions we received at the
tournament.
A word about the
simul. You’ve probably heard that GM Gareyev played a
seven-board blindfold simul. That’s right. He played
seven games, all at the same time, wearing a blindfold so he
couldn’t see the boards. He went from game to game in
turn. The relevant player would state his or her move. Timur
would consider for a few seconds and give his responding
move. Now, three of us finished with draws. I’d like
to say we earned the draws, and I suppose we could say we
played soundly enough to maintain a balanced, or at least
reasonably balanced, position. I can say for a fact that,
when I found myself the “last man standing,” and
I found myself essentially playing speed chess with Timur, I
was extremely grateful when he most generously Gave, and I
emphasize that, he Gave me a draw. And I want to say this. I
know that there are those of the opinion that playing
against a Grandmaster would be somewhat akin to stepping
into a boxing ring with, say, Mohammad Ali. It is not. The
chess moves don’t hurt anything at all like the boxing
blows would. It’s important to realize that what makes
a Grandmaster is not necessarily the force of their moves
but the level of preciseness that a GM is able to recognize
potential weaknesses or vulnerabilities in a position. He
doesn’t necessarily just destroy an opponent in 12
moves just because he is rated so much higher. If the
opponent makes sound moves, the game will advance until the
GM’s greater ability to recognize vulnerabilities,
even very slight ones, will, or may, allow him or her to
cause forced errors and to eventually break down the
opposing position. In short, if you get a chance to play
against someone better than you, that’s when you
are really likely to start learning how to play this game.
And that translates to deciding if you want to improve as a
chess player, and, if so, getting out and playing. And that
brings me to a question for each of you: What would it take to get you
to attend a face-to-face tournament? Do we need to find a way to
pay all of your out of pocket expenses?Would covering room and board
do the trick?Are we
still looking for those interested enough to care? Several of us who have
attended regularly in the past are getting up there in
years. If we don’t get new players willing and
interested to participate, the USBCA is in trouble.
It’s that simple. Many of us can remember when we had
in excess of 20 players attending our national tournament. I
think I can safely say we haven’t had 20 different
people attend our tournaments if we counted everybody who
has attended since the turn of the century. So, my question
was not rhetorical. I really do want you to respond. I
don’t care if you Reply, or Reply All, or if you write
to me privately at hazelnutt2001@xxxxxxxxx.
Call me at 270-935-5015 if you prefer. But please respond.
And please forward this very serious request to anyone you
know who isn’t receiving this. We, the USBCA, need to
tailor our efforts to rebuilding a body of enthusiastic
players who will actually attend a tournament. As Alex so
eloquently stated, playing chess via skype is great;
it’s easy; you get to play people all over the world
in absolute comfort; it’s free! But it’s not
playing face-to-face. And it’s not sharing the overall
experience like what we had in Lindsborg. And that was an
experience I will always remember. So, please, tell me what we
need to do, if there’s anything we can do, to increase
the number of participants to our national tournament. Yes,
we’re a big country. It’s much more expensive to
travel to a specific spot in this great land than it is in
the many smaller countries which regularly seat 20, or 30,
or more blind players at their national tournaments. And I
know life has a way of getting in the way, that chess is not
the single most important thing in the world! Or so they
say… But do we want to be such a nation as we have
become, a nation unable to scratch together any more than
four or five players for our national tournament? I
won’t say that I’m not proud of having won the
tournament. But I will say loudly that I know I am not the
best player in the country. In the long haul, I’m
probably not even the best player of the four of us who were
there this year. But I was there. I happened to have a good
series of games, mixed in with some luck, and I came away
the winner. And the single most significant detail there is,
I was there. Had I not attended, I couldn’t have won
it. We had four people this year, enthusiastic enough, lucky
enough, to be able to attend. How can we double or triple
that number for next year? I really want to know! Yours in chess! Jim Thoune,
USBCA
Vice-President and 2017 National champion
