4th FIDE World Chess Championships for People with Disabilities
Interview with Michele Visco
- Written by Karsten Wieland vom ZMDI Schachfestival e.V. The conversation was supported by the sign language interpreter Claudia Hempel.
K.W.: Thank you very much for having your willingness for this interview. As a start would you please tell us something about your own backround?
M.V.: I was born in Neapel in 1952 and grew up in Rome. Now I still live in Italy and I have two children. Futhermore I´m the 6th president of the ICCD, which was founded in 1949 by Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands - so I´m faced to many duties and responsibilities.
K.W.: Were all your expectations fullfilled relating to the World Championships?
M.V.: The championships are very well organised. In addition to that I like about the tournament that all three handicaped groups are able to play on the same boards.
K.W.: Would you please explain how it´s possible for a deaf and a blind person to play chess together?
M.V.: In general this constellation not is practicable because of the blind person not seeing the gestures nor is able to read and the deaf person can not hear what he is told, of course.
For that reason the deafblinds ineract with each other by holding their hands.
In contrast to this pairings, physically disabled are able to have a challenge with both deaf and blinds. I´d like to say in generall that the groups of disabled treat eachothers very carefully.
At this point it has to be stressed that handicaped people can definetily achieve world class results.
Tigran Petrosian is a particular example. He was a native of Armenia but politically speaking lived in Soviet Union and was the reigning World Champion in the sixties. In spite of his hardness of hearing.
K.W.: Now back to you. How many time do you have for playing chess beside all other duties?
M.V.: I regret not having much time left currently. My engagements as president and official take many time – not to mention my two children. In the past I was able to spent much more time on playing chess actively in a large italien team – that´s over now.
K.W.: Mr. Visco what are your requests for the next championships in two years?
M.V.: It would be great if the international sign language is used during the next chess championships. Perhaps it is beyond this possible to switch of the light and turn it on again in order to catch the unconfined attention of the handicaped audience more easily during important orations.
Last-mentioned I must greatly commend the chess clocks of this years championship by reason of their bright red light.
K.W.: Mr. Visco, many thanks for this interesting conversation.
M.V.: Thank you.