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Gaponenko's journey against all odds

Leonid Gaponenko from Kazakhstan is an inspiration for all players at this tournament. It is the first time in the history of this ten-year old tournament that a blind man has entered as a contestant.

  • By K.R. NayarSenior Reporter
  • Published: 00:39 April 12, 2008
  • Gulf News

Dubai: He is blind, but that has not stopped him from playing his favourite sport: chess. Defying all odds, he has reached the sixth round of the Dubai Open Chess tournament competing against some top players.

Leonid Gaponenko from Kazakhstan is an inspiration for all players at this tournament. It is the first time in the history of this ten-year old tournament that a blind man has entered as a contestant.

Gaponenko's wife guides him to his seat. With a constant smile that lights up his face, he makes his moves by touching the pieces on a special board.

"I was not born blind. At 13, I had a car accident and lost my sight. Before that, I used to play checkers, but when I joined university, some of the students there taught me chess and I fell in love with it," said Gaponenko who turned 64 on April 6, the opening day of this tournament.

'Meaning a lot'

"Chess means a lot to me. It has added a new dimension to my life. It has helped me travel and make new friends. Frankly, chess is the happiness of my life," he added. Gaponenko does not consider blindness as a handicap. He proved it in 1986 by emerging the champion of the then USSR in a tournament for the partially blind.

He then went on to compete in the European Championship for the partially blind, but missed the title by a mere half-a-point.

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