The passion to play chess and pure determination to become a world champion are what drive Mohammad Salih who is 100 per cent visually impaired to train ten hours daily despite several financial constraints. Without a steady source of income, this Kerala-based chess player has been taking loans from friends and banks to support his family and fund his training.
“I am determined to try and become a world chess champion in the open category. Magnus Carlsen is the reigning champion and I want to play against him. It should be a real match, not a friendly one,” insists Salih, one of India’s hidden gems in the world of chess who won the silver medal for India at the Third Asian Para games in 2018 held in Indonesia.
Salih suffers from rare hereditary blindness that gets transferred from one generation to another. His grandfather, father, two sisters, and second daughter all have had it. A father of three young children, Salih had approached the Kerala government four times, seeking a government job under the state’s sports quota so that he could fend for his family and passion. He somehow manages to run his household by training kids in chess.
With draining financial resources, Salih says he was forced to approach Shashi Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, for help.
“I personally met Tharoor sir and he has promised to help me in any possible way he can. He has also said that he will follow up with the state government on why I have not been eligible for a government job,” the sportsperson said.
Hameem Mohammed, a Kollam-based researcher-cum-social activist, started a petition on the social change platform Change.org. The petition received more than 9,500 signatures in support which helped Salih get an appointment with Tharoor.
“If the Kerala government says it does not have provisions to give Salih a job, it should at least provide him with financial assistance to train and compete at international events like the upcoming Asian Games. He is a chess genius and has brought laurels,” said the petitioner who met Salih at an NGO summit a year ago.
Salih speaks excitedly about his upcoming Kerala state, south Indian, and national chess tournaments, but his voice begins to crack with emotions when he speaks of the fund crunch that is forcing him to pull out of tournaments.
Chess training is expensive and it needs a lot of investment monetarily and in terms of time, says Salih. A typical day in his life revolves around coaches, books, and videos that guide him to become a better chess player. He has a coach who trains and tests him for two hours on various game strategies. Another coach spends five hours reading books on chess and helps him solve chess puzzles to sharpen his focus and moves in the game.
After these rigorous sessions, Salih spends time self-analysing the games played by the world’s best chess players and whom he hopes to compete against on his journey to become a grandmaster, he tells News18.
Having earlier been the president of the Kerala Chess Association for Blind and captain of the Kerala Blind Chess Team (2008), he prides himself on being Kerala’s first chess player to receive a rating in FIDE by competing with sighted players. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) maintains the official ratings of all rated players in the world and Salih is presently ranked 1150.
Salih gained entry into the Asian Games after he took part in the National Chess Championship held in Haryana in 2017. He earlier contested in chess tournaments across the country including Punjab, Odisha, Jharkhand, Goa, West Bengal, and Kashmir.
On his return with the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Para Games Men’s Team Rapid Chess event, he was among the para-athletes who were honoured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The central government gave him a cash award of Rs 15 lakh that came as a huge financial relief. It helped settle the loans he had taken for the game and provide his wife and children a proper home, Salih said.
“The Kerala government has been giving sighted sportspersons jobs and cash awards. When para-athletes like us also contribute to the pride of our state and country why should we be denied? In July this year, the Kerala government felicitated and gave cash awards to the winning sportspersons who returned from the Commonwealth Games. They claim they are disabled-friendly, but their actions are not,” he added.
The chess player said when he approached ministers in the Pinarayi government, he was given to understand that there is no allocation for visually impaired sportspersons. Salih is the sole breadwinner in his family.
A self-taught chess player was initiated into the game when he was around 9 years old at his school, Rahamania Special School for the Handicapped in Kozhikode. He did not start school until that age due to his disability and after completing his primary education moved to a regular school to continue his schooling. He is presently pursuing a law degree.
“I want to be known as the best chess player in the world, not in the blind category as I compete against sighted players and have won several games in the general category,” Salih said while reiterating that he will not rest until his goal is reached.
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