The day this week we met with the Polish Piotr Dukaczewski I had no game. He needed to rest after an intense competitive day. “This tournament is very hard for me. There are many very good and young players,” he says, half laughing. The tournament he is referring to is Llobregat Open Chess that is being celebrated in Sant Boi -“the strongest open tournament in Europe”, as it says Miguel Illescas– and this Friday the curtain comes down. Of the 240 participants, Piotr It is the last in the ranking. It is also the only one that is blind.
“Normally, I play against players who have a handicap. It’s easier because we all have the same kind of problems. Here I need a lot of concentration and a strong physical condition to perform accurately after three or four hours of playing. It is hard but at the same time it is good training even if I lose,” he explains.
Dukaczewski, almost 59 years old, has been one of the best blind chess players in the world. He has a world title, several runners-up finishes, several participations in the chess Olympics and is the champion of his country for visually impaired players on numerous occasions. His peak performance days are long gone. Even so, he dares to face teachers and young prodigies without visual impairments.
early learning
He says he’s been playing for 50 years. His father, an amateur player, taught him when he was 7 and he immediately became fascinated. However, when he was 9 years old he suffered a toxoplasmosis, an infection that gradually left him completely blind. He continued to play open games, but soon discovered that there is a historical tradition between chess and those who lack vision. “At first I played normal tournaments with my memory; After a while I needed a special board. And I discovered tournaments for the blind.”
He shows us his board. “I’ve had it since I was a kid.” Each piece has a different shape on the head that allows you to recognize them by touch and each box has a hole to nail the pieces. “I have the board in my mind. I can play without a board, just saying the moves, that’s not a problem. Formally it is necessary, even if it is for arbitration. But, of course, without a board I need more concentration effort. It’s easier for me if I can play the pieces from time to time.”
In general, their games are played with two boards. His, which only he touches, and his opponent’s, without the special conditioning. And they verbalize his movements. Sometimes the rival prefers not to maintain any communication. We already know how special these geniuses can be. Then he needs an assistant to move the pieces on his own board.
I work in an NGO
If someone wonders whether he could embarrass the world’s great teacher by putting a blindfold on him, Dukaczewski would answer conclusively not. They also have the board in their heads. “And they analyze variations very quickly and with great precision. It is impossible for the blind to reach that level.”
Today I had the honor of ringing the bell that started the second round of the Llobregat Open Chess. The strongest open tournament in Europe and we are lucky to have it here next to home ???? #LlobregatOpenChess pic.twitter.com/pLVVDS4wtM
— Miguel Illescas (@illescasmiguel) December 1, 2023
No, a blind person could never be world champion. “Although we can play good games against great masters. When they are very advanced and the clock is ticking we make mistakes more often because we need more time to think about the situation and analyze the variations. The same in the process of training and practicing. “We need more time to assume the same level of information.”
He says that in his semi-professional days he trained three or four hours a day. “Now there are three or four a week.” And he laughs. In Warsaw he works in an NGO for the disabled that undertakes projects in education, sports, rehabilitation and similar matters while he has been vice-president of the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA). He leaves Sant Boi with a bag of defeats, but the spirit of improvement intact.
2023-12-08 10:35:26
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