08-01-2014, 12:15 PM
Ian,
If I said to you, look at such and such a major in one of the games you might have to make your opponents' moves for them, you might well say, That is ridiculous. It is distracting. What happens if I want to go the loo? How will we handle the clock? However, the vast majority of players accept that is exactly what happens when we play a blind player.
I appreciate that I am painting rosy pictures and no doubt there will be teething troubles, but with remote play in an ideal scenario we are talking about you being sat a board in a Congress Hall with all the other players. Sat opposite you will be a human being. When you have decided what move to play you will move your piece and press your clock. At some point the human opposite will play a move and press their clock. It doesn't sound terribly different to a normal game does it? Of course there are some differences, the human opposite you will not be the person you are actually playing and there may not be the opportunity to analyse (or go down the pub) with your opponent afterwards.
In those circumstances are people going to say this disabled person or this person in a remote community shouldn't be allowed to participate in this event because of the potential 'problems' it creates for me. I would suggest that the evidence of blind players taking part suggests that this would not in fact happen.
If I said to you, look at such and such a major in one of the games you might have to make your opponents' moves for them, you might well say, That is ridiculous. It is distracting. What happens if I want to go the loo? How will we handle the clock? However, the vast majority of players accept that is exactly what happens when we play a blind player.
I appreciate that I am painting rosy pictures and no doubt there will be teething troubles, but with remote play in an ideal scenario we are talking about you being sat a board in a Congress Hall with all the other players. Sat opposite you will be a human being. When you have decided what move to play you will move your piece and press your clock. At some point the human opposite will play a move and press their clock. It doesn't sound terribly different to a normal game does it? Of course there are some differences, the human opposite you will not be the person you are actually playing and there may not be the opportunity to analyse (or go down the pub) with your opponent afterwards.
In those circumstances are people going to say this disabled person or this person in a remote community shouldn't be allowed to participate in this event because of the potential 'problems' it creates for me. I would suggest that the evidence of blind players taking part suggests that this would not in fact happen.