Triumph

Round 6, Meghalaya Open State ‘B’ Chess Tournament, 10th April, 2012, 5:26 p.m., Shillong…

For me it was a must-win match or I would definitely not qualify for the State ‘A’ Tournament and be one of the top twelve players of Meghalaya. As I sat across my opponent in the room, I had mixed feelings. There were about twenty players in this room including the arbiter. The signal to start the game had not yet been given. There was a low buzzing sound and it seemed to be a collection of the many individual conversations. There were small children, some all set to play against adult veterans. The tea vendor was strolling up and down the room whispering to people to have tea. One player who had spilled his tea from the plastic cup was warily looking at the open window which boasted a strong breeze.

As I looked up, I could see the bright light bulb near the door on one side and the three tube lights on the other sides. It felt good to see the room adequately lit. I looked at my opponent and smiled. I could detect excitement and expectancy from his face.

Finally, the signal to start was given. I was playing White and made my first move hesitatingly indicating an ‘English Opening.’ Yes, I was nervous and knew that I had to play very accurately against my opponent who is a tough player. I had played against him last year in the tournament and had drawn with great difficulty.

My opponent who was playing Black moved his knight confidently to the square F6 with a view to develop and control the center at the same time. I quickly moved my G pawn with a view to fianchetto my king side bishop. My opponent moved his other knight to a symmetrical position once again indicating that he wanted center control.

As we kept sparring, we reached the middle game without any side suffering any casualty. Suddenly, he moved his G pawn two squares forward to G5. Considering he had castled, and this was one of his main defending pawns, I was taken aback. What was he thinking? What was his strategy? As I puzzled over this, my eyes fell over his innocuously placed rook on the F8 square. He was planning to attack the H pawn, check me with his queen, then sacrifice his bishop and bingo – checkmate with rook… all in a total of six moves.

I felt a sense of exhilaration at having seen the ploy and proceeded to defend accurately. As we matched wit, the game slowly started turning in my favor. After about half an hour I had compelling advantage and my opponent gracefully resigned.

I was happy to have won and knew that if I had not seen that ploy, things might have gone differently. But there was something much bigger than the win which I am celebrating. It was the gracefulness of my opponent and a triumph of the human spirit in his earnest battle to participate and almost win. My opponent was the epitome of what it means to celebrate life itself. In spite of my win I stand humbled by the match and I am proud and privileged to have played against him. Winning or losing here has only technical significance.

My opponent is blind.