Oza, Patel have a blind date with destiny

Despite being totally blind, Rajesh Oza’s endgame vision came to the fore as he defeated partially blind Swapnil Shah with white pieces to win the National ‘A’ Chess Championship for the Blind at the Andheri Sports Complex here on Wednesday. Puneite Oza (10.5 points), thus, ended Mumbai’s monopoly on the national championship. Gujarat’s Darshan Patel (10), who finished second, made history as he became the first player from outside Maharashtra to qualify for the Istanbul World Individual Championship in November.Apart from Oza and Patel, Mumbai’s Madan Bagaitkar and Shirish Patel (both 10 points) made it to the World Championship. Rajesh Oza , who lost his eyes after cataract surgery led to complications in his retina, was rock solid in the 13th round. The shy and softspoken Oza, who celebrated his 25th birthday on the championship’s opening day, couldn’t afford to lose. Despite a tense situation on the board and too much at stake, he never lost his cool. After losing in the last round of last year’s National ‘B’ and failing to qualify for the National ‘A’, he had set his sight on the National ‘A’ this year. With more than five hours of daily practice and special guidance from coach Joseph D’Souza, who prepared him with 20 to 25 audio cassettes, helped Oza reign. Even his opponents conceded that he was a deserving winner. Oza has finished his SSC and is an arts student. He has been playing chess before losing sight. But his involvement deepened after the tragedy. The 64 squares became his permanent companions. His brothers, who run a canteen at Pune station, look after him. Madan Bagaitkar kept his record of making it to an international event everytime he tried. The partially blind 42-year-old has been playing for more than 10 years and has been guided by different coaches. This telephone operator got a Canara Bank job in 1982 from the handicap quota. Bagaitkar’s best performance is bronze medal on the second board of the 2000 Chess Olympiad in Holland. Darshan Patel wants to prove that the visually handicapped are in no way inferior to the sighted. This partially blind 20-year-old claimed that he could see nothing originally. “My mother’s prayers gave me a little vision,’’ he said. Patel, who is coached by AC Joshi, practises with his younger brother, also partially blind. He had qualified for the National ‘A’ by finishing second in the National ‘B’. “I want to become a Sanskrit professor,’’ declared the second year arts student. “I believe that if your intentions are good, you are bound to succeed.’’ Shirish Patil, son of Vasant Patil who also played in these Nationals, has become a part of the Indian team for the fourth time. He played the World Team Championship in Germany last year along with his father and Bagaitkar. The 25-year-old arts graduate from SIES (Sion), who had finished joint third in the 1998 Irish Open, is looking for a job. “Hard work is the secret of success and I won’t fall behind on that count,’’ he said. Let’s wish the best for this fearless foursome.