Last week TRIFC and our in-country program partner NAWB (Nepal Association for the Welfare of the Blind) launched Chess Club in five Nepali Schools. Three of the schools are for the Blind/Visually-Impaired (BVI) and two are schools for the Deaf/Hearing-Impaired.
This special chess set has all of the basic elements of the usual chess set, however it has some unique characteristics that allow the BVI to play. The key differences are as follows:
• White pieces can be differentiated from the black pieces by a white ‘nib’ that is on top of every white piece.
• Each piece has a round ‘peg’ on the bottom of it that fits into the round hole in each square of the chessboard.
• Some of the chess pieces have a different shape from traditional ones. For example, the knight looks a bit like the number “7”.
• All of the black squares on the chess board are raised about 1/8th of an inch to make it easy to identify positioning.
One of our goals is to help the students learn how to play chess using chess curriculum with teachers/tutors to help them learn.
How can learning chess do more than just allow students to play a fun and challenging game?
Chess helps students:
▪ Improve/increase critical thinking skills
▪ Advance math and reading skills
▪ Improve behavioral and social skills
▪ Increase self-esteem
▪ Grasp concepts quicker
TRIFC is proud to introduce this project to students with disabilities in Nepal. If we are successful with our ‘pilot’ project we will provide this opportunity to other students with disabilities in other schools. We also are hoping to have inter-disability tournaments where the Blind/Visually-Impaired students are able to play and interact with Deaf/Hearing-Impaired students. Because of the obvious logistical issues it has always been a very difficult challenge to create the bonds of friendship and understanding between these two disabilities. We hope to break through these barriers via chess club!
We will keep you informed of our progress with this exciting program.
-Rob Rose
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