With only five percent visibility, Akhilesh K. Srivastav can only see the black and white of this colourful world. But instead of cribbing about his disability, he made these two colours his life. He paved his way through the sixty-four squares and used the black & white pieces to add some colour in his otherwise dark life.
Chess now runs through his veins. The lion-hearted has marched on fighting all odds and this short stature guy from Bihar has stood tall amongst the best of chess players through his sheer courage and determination.
Fighting both -- his opponents and his blindness -- Akhilesh got FIDE ratings in 2010 and now the master of chessboard does not want to look back.
Visually impaired since birth, Akhilesh took long to accept his fate, but then that was his past and now the brave man just sees his better future. “I had this eye sight problem since birth. But it took me 17 years of my life to accept this fact. I didn't want to be tagged visually impaired. I fought hard against this disability. But I fought harder against myself. Accepting this bitter truth was the toughest thing I did in my life," reminisces the Chemistry honours graduate from Chapra (Bihar).
“My family members used to be quite tensed about me. My future always bothered them. But after I accepted my fate, I thought life cannot go on this way. I learnt Braille from the institute in Dehradun. Soon I was selected for Punjab National Bank and thereafter my life seemed to be on track," said Akhilesh.
Talking about his first love Chess, he said, "I started playing chess when I was seven. My elder brother brought me into this game. I got famous in my colony. People use to call me to their houses to play a game of Chess. Soon I became invincible in my locality and the journey began,” quipped the player.
“My eldest brother, RK Shrivastav, advised me to play Chess professionally. I started playing professionally in 2005. I shifted from the bank job to Communication Ministry in Delhi as it was the best place to get good exposure. I came fourth in Yamuna Nagar Zonal Championship and got selected for National B. It was then that people started taking me seriously. I finished in top 10 in National B and last year I was selected for National A."
On his performance in 2010, Akhilesh thinks it to be a mixed bag. “2010 was a mixed bag. I played National A championship for the first time in my life in visually impaired category and defeated the India No 1 player. Still I couldn't make into the top four. That was a bit disappointing. In last year's edition of Parsvnath, I defeated high rated players and got my ratings. That was the happiest moment of my life.”
In ninth Parsvnath he wishes to improve his ratings, which are 1628 at present. "This year the competition is very tough. It is hard to get even half point. But I would strive hard to beat some higher rated players to improve my current ratings."
Does he think that being visually challenged hamper his performance and chances? The iron-willed man replied, "Chess is not the game of strength. One who has the IQ does well in this game. My blindness hasn’t caused problems for me. Though because of my disability, I am a bit slow in making my moves and have lost matches due to dearth of time.”
“I think one day, I will make it big in chess,” said Akhilesh with conviction and determination as he walked down to his table where his chess board and pieces were waiting for his moves.
By Vaibhav Tiwari
