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Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Blind Chess: McDonald's Chess Docu Algorithms nominated for Grierson Prize
Hello chess blog friends, we've written about Ian McDonald and his chess documentary on blind chess players from India before. McDonald, from Newcastle University actually remortgaged his home to make the documentary which is now nominated for yet another award, reports ChronicleLive.
Dr Ian McDonald, a senior lecturer in film, is in the running for a Grierson prize for his documentary Algorithms, which follows blind chess players in India. He made the documentary, which spans three years, after reading about the chess players in an Indian newspaper in 2006. Dr McDonald directed, filmed and edited the film alongside his wife Geetha, the producer.
He said: “It is a great privilege to be nominated for a Grierson. “Making the film has been a real struggle, but it’s had a great response wherever it has screened and now for the film to receive this nomination is a real honour for us.”
Dr Ian McDonald and his wife Geetha
Algorithms has already won six awards, including best foreign documentary at this year’s LA Femme film festival and the best film trophy at Film South Asia in Nepal last year. Dr McDonald was inspired to create the film after discovering a “community that was almost unknown to the outside world”.
He said: “To be part of their world for three years was a transformative experience.
“It changed my understanding of ability and disability and reminded me of the forgotten significance of touch.”
The husband and wife duo followed three boys competing in tournaments in India and abroad, as well as visiting the chess champions at home.
Dr McDonald found out for himself that despite being blind, the boys were still able to see the winning moves on the board.
The Grierson awards were set up in memory of renowned Scottish filmmaker John Grierson in 1972, and recognise groundbreaking documentaries. Read full article. From Alexandra Kosteniuk's www.chessblog.com Also
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World Chess Championship 2014 for Blind, Visually Impaired Chess Players in Greece - May 4-15
Hello everyone,
13th IBCA World Individual Chess Championship for Blind and Visually Impaired Chess Players 2014 Location: Katerini, Olympus Riviera Pieria - Greece Dates: arrival 4 May - departure 15 May 2014
Date and venue The Championship will be held in Katerini, Olympus Riviera - Greece from May 4th 2014 (arrivals) until May 15th 2014 (departures). The tournament hall is the conference center of the 5-star hotel “Mediterranean Village” in Katerini.
Organizers I.B.C.A. and Hellenic Sport Federation for Persons with Disability.
Information and registrations Information, questions, registrations to the email ibcaworld2014@gmail.com and tel. number (+30) 6938326161, Mr Nikos Kalesis.
Payments Board and lodging, IBCA fee The participants will stay in the 5-star hotel “Mediterranean Village” in Katerini, Olympus Riviera. Prices per person, per night, full board included: in triple room: 59 Euros in double room: 67 Euros in single room: 84 Euros
All participants, including coaches and accompanying persons of the delegations, must stay in the official hotel “Mediterranean Village” for organisational and security reasons. The Organising Committee will not accept any person to be a participant if she/he doesn’t stay in the official hotel “Mediterranean Village”.
Transportation from and to airport, excursion Organizers are obliged to provide transportation from and to Thessaloniki Airport and an excursion on 10 May without any cost for all participants. All delegations must send the flight details (date, time and flight number for arrival/departure) to the organizing committee before 2 April 2014.
Travel expenses and arrivals According to FIDE regulations the participating federations must cover the travel expenses of all players, coaches and accompanying persons.
Schedule May 4 Arrivals May 5 at 10:00 Technical Meeting May 5 at 15:00 Round 1 May 6 at 15:00 Round 2 May 7 at 15:00 Round 3 May 8 at 15:00 Round 4 May 9 at 15:00 Round 5 May 10 free day Excursion May 11 at 15:00 Round 6 May 12 at 15:00 Round 7 May 13 at 15:00 Round 8 May 14 at 09:00 Round 9 May 14 at 16:00 Closing ceremony May 15 Departures For more details check the official website. From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Ian McDonald is a sports sociologist and documentary filmmaker. Having always used the camera to support his research on sport and physical culture in UK and India, Ian’s move to documentary filmmaking, benefits from a seemingly effortless ‘way of seeing’ that has resulted in documentaries with a difference on art and sport, especially of the ‘sporting outsider’- the one who is seen as ‘different’ by a ‘normal’ society. His documentaries have been screened at film festivals, conferences and campaign meetings around the world. Ian is based at the University of Brighton, UK.
ALGORITHMSIndia | 2012 | HDV | B&W | 109 mins English, Hindi, Tamil, Odiya with English subtitles
In India, a group of boys dream of becoming Chess Masters, driven by a man with a vision. But this is no ordinary chess and these are no ordinary players. Algorithms is a documentary on the thriving but little known world of Blind Chess in India.
Filmed over three years, Algorithms travels with three talented boys and a totally blind player turned pioneer to competitive national and world championships and visits them in their home milieu where they reveal their struggles, anxieties and hopes.
Going beyond sight and story, this observational sport docu with a difference moves through the algorithms of the blind chess world challenging the sighted of what it means to see. It allows for the tactile and thoughtful journey that explores foresight, sight and vision to continue long after the moving image ends.
Visually Challenged Chess Players - Ian McDonald Documentary on Indian Chess Players
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
At the 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for Blind in Chennai recently, British filmmaker Ian McDonald announced the completion of his documentary film Algorithms in India. The film will feature a documentary on Blind chess for the first time in India. It almost took four years to complete this unique film and is the first ever feature documentary on young blind chess players from India.
The film is in English, Hindi, Tamil and Odiya subtitles. Talking more about the movie, Ian told journalists, "The story of the film revolves about a group of Indian boys who are dreaming to become chess masters. These boys are no ordinary boys and have only one vision to win the Champions title. Over past three years we have been making the film and our aim was to highlight the world of Blind chess in India. It also talks about the struggle, anxieties and hopes of the chess players."
IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind 2012 in Chennai from Aug 9
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind 2012 will be organised by the All-India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) under the aegis of International Braille Chess Association (affiliated to FIDE) from 9-19 August, 2012 at Hotel Le Royal Meridien, Chennai, India.
This is the first time “Chess Olympiad” for the blind is organised in Asia. India has the rare honor as the first Asian country to host world’s highest chess event for the blind. After the successful conduct of the 11th Individual World Chess Championship for the blind 2006 in Goa, International Braille Chess Association (IBCA) Congress awarded this event to India unanimously.
The last edition at Heraklion in Greece, the 13th IBCA Chess Olympiad, saw a total of 34 countries participating, comprising of 164 players. The traditional powerhouse of chess, Russia, took the gold with Ukraine and Spain clinching the silver and bronze medals.
Chief Guest World Champion Viswanathan Anand has been a big moral support to the Indian blind team all through. Impressed with the blind team’s work, Anand said, “I have interacted with many visually challenged players and I can say honestly that these players have a special talent to see the pieces in their mind when they play. For us it is very difficult to be able to imitate that special skill.”
About 31 countries have confirmed their participation, including 25 International masters, 5 International Woman Masters & 120 FIDE rated players. The championship will be a team event, comprising nine rounds and a match between two teams will be played on four boards.
Two nice chess feature stories from around the world
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
We like to read all the chess feature stories from around the world even if they have a very local flavour. Here are two simple and interesting chess features. Enjoy reading and marvelling how wonderful our game of chess is.
Blind Ambika Finds Peace Playing Chess
Twenty-five years ago when he took to chess, he never knew how to play the game and neither was interested in playing it. But now after two-and-a-half decades, he takes chess as his religion and has mastered the game of sixty four squares. Such is the story of Ambika Prasad Singh, a visually challenged chess player, who plays the game as a hobby and uses it as a tool to find peace.
Ambika was not blind by birth. It was when he was eight years of age that he contracted chicken pox and lost both his eyes due to the deadly disease. But he never used it as an excuse and did carry on with his life. “I never knew what happened to me. I was too small to actually feel dejected emotionally, but as time passed by I slowly realized and started feeling morally low. I took it as my fate and moved on with my life as there was nothing much I could do. I faced problem initially but with time, I learnt to live with it,” said Ambika. Read further here.
Chess contenders in a muted zone
The silent world of the chess player has reigned in the Millennium Hotel this week as 148 national and international players challenge each other in the Queenstown Chess Classic.
Distributed around the hotel's giant lobby each day since Sunday have been 74 chess boards with a player on each side making not a sound, as pawn, rook, bishop, knight, king or queen were moved on the boards. The players do not make eye contact. Some get up and walk around the room for a bit - others do not move an inch. There are national champions and others just learning, but they all have one thing in common and that is the chess code of silence. Read further here.
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