Why I Turned to Chess

Up until about six years ago, chess had just been a dream of mine; that is, all I wanted to do was just learn to play.  I had bought a slim Braille booklet on the basics and rudiments of chess back in the early 90s along with an adaptable chessboard but truth be told, I never really paid much attention to it until I lost most of my vision about six years ago.

 

Before turning to chess, I was very much of an outdoors sports person.  I was heavily involved with such things as ice skating, swimming, and skiing but upon losing my vision, I became very nervous about navigating outdoors and I had to really push myself to keep up with my ice skating.  However, I persevered and I am glad that I did but something was missing.  Something I wanted to add to my repertoire of hobbies to compensate for my vision loss.

 

I was born with very little vision but when I was a teen I received a cornea transplant that enabled me to gain a fair amount of sight but I was still considered to be legally blind.  With my new found sight I took the opportunity to explore and learn much and this included exploring possibilities to learn board games.  After buying my adapted chessboard I spent a wee bit of time with it but it was not until 2002 just before losing my vision that I really decided to get serious about entering the world of chess.  In that year I happened to meet a wonderful lady named Nadia Shishkina, a Russian lady, and a chess teacher.

 

It did not take much for Nadia to encourage me to start learning and just before losing my vision I managed to learn enough from her to get started with the basics.  I stayed in touch with Nadia and upon losing my vision it was she who encouraged me to get serious about my chess.  It took about three years after losing my vision for me to really get going and when I did I did not stop.  My first stop along the way was in Ottawa Canada with my friend Ray Barfitt.  He patiently started to coach me and mentor me and he encouraged me to buy some Braille chess books from the RNIB in order to improve my skills.

 

I also took the plunge to expand my circle of chess friends at a local chess club but this did not work very well for me as I ran into some chess instructors who felt that I should be playing with blind players instead of sighted ones.  Nadia and Ray continued to push me to keep on going and last year I took one big step forward when I signed up for the Hadley School's chess program.  This all came about when an acquaintance put me in touch with Alan Dicey, a truly wonderful man and a true motivator.  I completed the Hadley program in September and since then I have been playing in the Swiss division tournament as well as with others on the USBCA list.

 

Chess has opened up many doors for me.  I have and continue to make many new friends.  I am using chess to help me cultivate more patience, become more disciplined in my job as well as in my personal life, and most of all I am using it to help others.  I hope that I can find opportunities to travel to other countries in order to promote chess among blind persons.

 

I'd like to thank Nadia, Ray, and Alan for having been a part of my chess adventures and I look forward to meeting many others like them.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with the rest of the world.  Visit www.hadley.edu to learn more.

A Tribute to My Mentor, Friend, and Adviser

How he touched my life.

The day I heard that you had passed on was the day that I lost a small piece of my heart and the moment I realized that you were no longer with us was the one when I discovered that one of the most important persons in my life was gone forever.

 

It has been said that as a general rule of thumb, there are at least five persons that one would meet during the course of their life that would have a lasting impact on them and for me the late Maurice Connor was one of these.  I first met MR. Conn as a child when I attended the School for the Blind and from then until now I was privileged and honoured to have known him.  As a student, he was always there for me; coaching, mentoring, encouraging, and sometimes pushing hard for me to keep on fighting the good fight.  As an adult, he continued to mentor me and was never tired of listening to me tell him all about my ventures and adventures.  He was one of the best listeners that I have ever known.

 

As a music teacher, he was tough but at the same time, gentle and encouraging.  Each time I returned to Trinidad from abroad, I made it my priority to call and visit him and sometimes he would visit my home and have a meal with my mom and me.  I loved his unique sense of humor, his ability to analyze quickly and offer words of wisdom, but most of all, I appreciated his closeness to God.  Our friendship was one that stretched across the seas; from Canada to Trinidad and way beyond.

 

I always looked forward to receiving his early morning emails.  He never complained about anything.  Instead, he wanted to know how I was doing and his words of encouragement were always welcomed.  MR. Conn had an insatiable appetite to learn.  Whenever he did not hear from me he would send an email inquiring about my well being and each time I came to Trinidad we would speak regularly on the phone.  The exchange of Christmas Day and New Years Day calls were traditions between us.  How much I treasured our chats, his rich laughter, and his quiet words of wisdom.

 

In 1972, MR. Conn was part of a very successful team that helped to ensure my success at the O level examinations.  He was so proud of this accomplishment and never tired of telling me how happy he was to have been part of the effort.  He would never know how very grateful I was to have had him as my coach and mentor then.

 

When I lost my vision five years ago, it was MR. Conn who helped me to cope.  He would often write me saying:  "Put your hand in the hand of the lord and walk with him."  When I lost my brother Robert 2 years ago, it was MR. Conn again who helped me to cope.  He came to Robert's funeral and He would never know how much I appreciated him being there.  He told me that it was God's will that Robert was taken and that I had to trust in the good Lord.

 

This soft, gentle and peace loving man was unique.  His music will live on for many moons.  His dedication and commitment to the causes of blind Trinidadians will never be forgotten.  MR. Conn was one of the most selfless persons that I know.  He was extremely modest despite his many achievements and he never sought anything in return for his tireless efforts.

 

Rest in Peace MR. Conn.  Your Soul is free now and I am sure that on a very quiet night, I will be able to hear you playing your lilting music and I may be even lucky enough to hear you say "D.J!  How goes it?"  Now you will be able to see the bright yellow sun, the fragrant flowers, the swaying trees, and the rolling blue sea.  I will never forget you and I will always do my best to live up to your expectations.  I promise to keep on fighting the good fight.

 

Thank you for having allowed me to be part of your life and for having come into mine.

D.J (for this is what he always called me).

 

When Did I First Discover...

One of the most frequently asked questions that I have had to answer throughout my life is this one:  When did I first discover that I was blind?  In other words, how early in my childhood did I realize that I was blind?  Boy o Boy!  A simple question but not a very straightforward response on my part.  You see, I really do not remember how or when I discovered. 

 

Thinking about it now, it seems as if I always knew that I was blind.  I seem to remember as a child that I always knew that I could not see very well.  I knew that I could not see well enough to run around and play hide and seek but my brothers never let this get in the way.  I always played with them and played with their toys.  I knew that I could not read and write print but my parents and granny were always there to read things to me and as for writing?  I remember trying to write with a pencil like my brothers but I would make up what I wrote and then commit it to memory. 

 

I remember that my dad used to play soccer with me using a brightly colored ball and when it came to cricket; both dad and brothers used to use a huge bright red ball.  Then when it came to flying kites; my dad always let me fly brightly colored kites.  Everything that required balls, bats, kites, and so on, were always brightly colored.  However, I was unable to draw or paint because I did not have enough vision but it did not prevent me from trying.

 

My first days of primary school were spent at a school for blind children and I had to get used to reading and writing in Braille; the use of dots and devices used for us to communicate.  Braille was first developed in the days of Napoleon so that his soldiers could communicate with each other in the dark and was then quickly expanded to include helping blind persons to communicate.  Braille was invented by a Frenchman named Louis Braille and the year 2009 is being marked to commemorate his 200th birthday. 

 

I can tell you with great delight that I have had the privilege of being able to function in both worlds; the blind and the sighted and I owe all of this  to a wonderful and devoted family made up of two terrific parents, brothers, granny, and cousins, aunts, and uncles.  In addition, to friends, and teachers and mentors.  I can also say that having received an excellent foundation as a blind child has enabled me to walk through life listening, learning, and understanding how to adjust to my blindness without too much difficulty.  True it is that I have and continue to face many challenges as a bind person but that's okay.  It's what makes life interesting and exciting. 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and spread the word that yes indeed!  Blind persons can adjust to their blindness if they receive the right grounding as kids.  Visit www.afb.org or www.acb.org to learn more. 

Can Blind People Play Chess?

The playing of chess has become a favorite passion and pastime of many blind persons around the world. For me, it has helped to deal with my loss of vision. Three years ago, I started to learn how to play chess and quickly realized that if I really wanted to learn the game properly, I would have to be taught by those who really knew how to teach blind persons.

When I first started, I was fortunate enough to receive coaching from a wonderful Russian teacher who had taught chess to blind persons in her native Russia, but when I tried to join various mainstream clubs in my area and to have mainstream teachers teach me, it turned into experiences of great frustration and disappointment. Then I learned about the Hadley School for the Blind, an institution that offers courses at no charge to Americans and Canadians.

The courses range from high school courses in math, history, geography, law, and foreign languages, to so many other types of courses, including chess. I took the chess course and today am delighted to report that I am playing against other blind players around the world. I am making friends all the time and recently came across a young man who lost his sight due to an injury that he sustained while in the U.S. Army. I am presently engaged in a tournament that puts a North American team against a team from South Africa.

So how do I play chess? With a board that consists of squares that are raised and sunken to represent the difference between black and white squares. The white chess pieces have been made distinguishable from the black pieces through extra dots on their tops. Chess sets are readily available for purchase, but if you would like to learn more about how blind and visually impaired persons go about playing chess then please visit www.hadley.edu.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your accessibility and special-needs business consultant wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and tell others that, yes!, blind and visually-impaired persons can and do play chess and they can even play against sighted players.