After surgery, Russian teenager returns to compete from her bed, wins both rounds

Panaji: Khlypovka Lada refused to give up.

The Russian teenager had a fall after the opening ceremony of the World Chess Championship for Persons with Disabilities in Dona Paula last week. She needed surgery and three days of hospitalisation for a fractured leg. But instead of simply recuperating after being discharged, she decided to compete from her hotel bed.

“It would have been a shame to come here and not play,” Lada, who is a wheelchair player, told TOI, using Google translate to communicate. “My mother (who is accompanying) said it’s okay (if you don’t play), and the decision is up to me. But I didn’t want to give up so easily.”

In keeping with the tournament’s spirit of inclusion and empathy, the wheelchair player was allowed to play from her room itself. Lada remained on the bed while her opponent sat on the chair across the chess board, with two arbiters – officials who oversees matches and ensure that the rules are followed -- monitoring the game.

The 16-year-old first won against Dushyant Pal (India), and after missing four rounds, picked up another win against Iniyan Gopinathan in the sixth. She is next drawn to face Kanishri R P (India) on Monday

“My leg hurts a bit, the pain is there, but I can bear this and play. We went to a good hospital here, the doctors treated us well and I must say there are very friendly people in Goa,” said Lada.

Lada arrived in Goa last week with plenty of expectations.

At the last World Chess Championship for Persons with Disabilities in Armenia, the Russian teenager had won plenty of honours: first among junior girls, second among women in a wheelchair and third overall. In blitz, Lada achieved the best result among all participating women.

In Goa, it did not go according to plan.

“Because of this injury, I missed out on the chance to take part in the blitz and rapid (championships). I missed four rounds too. Now there are not too many rounds left but I will keep fighting till the end,” she said.

Born with a genetic disability and on a wheelchair since age six, Lada does not know much about India, just that “it’s the birthplace of chess,” a sport she fell in love after watching the 2016 World Championship title clash between Magnus Carlsen and his childhood rival, Sergey Karjakin.

Her idols include Mikhail Botvinnik, generally regarded as the Patriarch of the Soviet Chess School, five-time world champion Carlsen, Anatoly Karpov, at his peak the highest-rated player in the world for over 100 months, and Alexander Alekhine, who is reported to have played some of the finest games the world has ever seen.

“Chess is a great sport, playing really makes me happy,” said Lada. “Here, I can’t go outside (in the hall) and play which makes me sad, but I will try and win from the bed itself.”

That should make her happy, again.