Really. (With apologies to Garrett Morris, who is now very old.) Bulgaria's Veselin Georgiev, cleverly taking both his names from two of Bulgaria's top players, is the new hearing impaired world chess champion. Apparently an Azerbaijani won the deaf-mute category. Krischi posts below: "The Azerbaijani newspaper got it pathetically wrong. The player won the deaf-blind category. There is no "deaf-mute" category, and in fact, the term is considered derogatory by the deaf. Being deaf does in no way imply being mute, or being devoid of language at all. Link to the official site: http://chess08.com/"
I had no idea there was a such thing, and wouldn't have guessed, since usually such competitions are found among groups that cannot compete on equal terms with the, umm, fully-abled. The dis-disabled? The handicap-challenged? ("Undeaf" sounds like something from a George Romero movie.) The International Braille Chess Association has been a full FIDE member "nation" since 1994 and has an Olympiad team. What other such associations include chess in their events? There have been plenty of hearing-impaired players among the world elite, including Petrosian. They have also provided a few Chernevian anecdotes that always become more exaggerated with each telling. You know, the "so he turned off his hearing aid and wasn't distracted by the noise outside" one and the "he didn't hear the draw offer and went on the lose" bit.
Stumbling around a bit, I found this piece on a top deaf American player, Russell Chauvenet. He passed away in 2003. Interesting quote from him in the article: "Most players presume that deafness is no handicap in chess. I try to explain that the problems a deaf person encounters socially, educationally, and in earning a living are such as to minimize the time and energy available to become a good chess player. I might as well sit beside a mountain stream and ask the water to flow uphill." That's an interesting argument for what we might call indirect disadvantage. Discuss. (Random linking weirdness dept: I found that link from a page that included a link to this music video, a CGI short with an animated chess set battle. Funky.)
Of course there are interest group-specific meets, such as the Gay Games, which are another fabulous thing altogether. Though I don't think the official Gay Games has chess. (I was half wrong. They did, but dropped it in Chicago 2002. The gold winner in 1998 is rated 2246.) And despite centuries of on-the-record bigotry against the abilities of female chessplayers, I don't recall hearing anyone suggest that being gay would be an Elo disadvantage. Unless they are constantly distracted by how horribly dressed everyone else is at chess tournaments. Queer eye for the mate guy? Okay, I'm a little out of form tonight. But I suppose a variation of the above social pressures argument for deaf people could be made for gays in many places.
The Azerbaijani newspaper got it pathetically wrong. The player won the deaf-blind category.
There is no "deaf-mute" category, and in fact, the term is considered derogatory by the deaf. Being deaf does in no way imply being mute, or being devoid of language at all.
Link to the official site: http://chess08.com/
that bores me.
With all due respect to anyone with any disability, I don't buy the indirect handicap idea. If we buy that then we should also agree that players with children have a competitive handicap when they play those who without children (specially women players). Should we have a world championship for parent players and another one for the non-parent players?
The blind, deaf, and gay have enough problems without us raining on their parades. But there shouldn't be a separate event for players with children; pawn-and-move makes more sense.
i suppose as long as they dont try to mate the wrong guy...
watch out for their fool's mate...
that's no bishop hanging...
and one more..
shouldnt we mate the Queen then?
outside of silly jokes does it realy matter? long as the person i play behaves at the board, i dont care who is in their bed.
"with the, umm, fully-abled. The dis-disabled? The handicap-challenged? ("Undeaf" sounds like something from a George Romero movie.)"
I believe "hearinged" is how it's put in the deaf community.
david: You choose to have children. You do not choose to have a disability. You do not choose your sexual orientation.
It is true that no one chooses their "sexual orientation". Because sex is the act of reproduction, sex (for human beings) can only take place between a man and a woman (intercourse). Anything else is sodomy.
You do choose to engage in physical behavior (it is not forced upon you except in the case of rape or attack).
Whether one should engage in a behaviour is a matter of personal belief. The question is, whose beliefs matter? It there right activity and wrong activity? Who has the right to say what's right and wrong? Who has said what is right and what is wrong?
Next year the International Committee of Silent Chess will be 60 years old. Among other things, they oversee individual world chess championships for the Deaf as well as team championships. http://web.tiscali.it/icsc_w/
There is a United States Chess Association of the Deaf, although it is relatively inactive these days. I edited/published their monthly newsletter "The Silent Knight" for 14 years.
Smiled at the old SNL reference.
Rick,
Were you ever tempted to whisper "there's a scorpion on your back" to weed out the imposters?
There is a large communication barrier between the deaf and the hearing, analogous, for instance, to nothing that has ever existed between gay and straight people. But deaf people can communicate amongst themselves using signed languages, sometimes across continents and mother-cultures. So I don't think it is surprising that the world-wide deaf community would have sufficient solidarity to organise a chess tournament for themselves.
Never had to test for impostors, Greg, but I think years ago my Deaf buddy Ed Aldrich went into a deep think in an open tournament, and didn't hear the fire alarm that otherwise emptied the playing area. As crf noted, there's enough solidarity in the Deaf community, so they pretty much know who's who. Any way, tournaments have modest prizes and are largely for bragging rights -- I'm "best" until the next time around. Decades ago I directed a national Deaf tournament in Austin, with such legendary Silent Chess personages as Emil Ladner, Russ Chauvenet and Francis Huffman (not to slight the others, like my pal "Mad Dog" Hailey). Not a single fuss or gripe from any player the whole time! "Huffy" started the proceedings off by signing and voicing for this "hearie's" sake, then voiced for the next speaker, John Coffey, who primarily signed. When Francis proceeded to "voice" for me while I signed, however, I fell out laughing and had to wave him off...
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