Documentary on blind chess players ready

Chennai: Four years in the making, a unique film is nearing completion. A British filmmaker and an Indian team have come together to make the first ever feature documentary on blind chess players.

This documentary on young blind chess players from India will be shown at the valedictory function of the IBCA Chess Olympiad here Sunday when the filmmaker will be felicitated. The film by Ian McDonald, titled ‘Algorithms’, is based on a group of Indian boys who 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 and filmed over three years from just before the World Junior Blind Chess Championship in Sweden in 2009 to just after the next championship in Greece in 2011. It follows three talented boys from different parts of India and a totally blind player-turned-pioneer who not only aims to place India on a global stage but also wants all blind children to play chess. ‘Algorithms’ travels with the chess players to competitive tournaments and visits them in their home milieu where they reveal their struggles, anxieties and hopes. It moves through the algorithms of the blind chess world reminding the sighted of what it means to see. Gentle and subtle, this observational sport documentary with a difference elicits hidden realms of subjectivity. It allows for the tactile and thoughtful journey that explores foresight, sight and vision to continue long after the moving image ends, according to the publicity brochure. IANS