Over the Board chess for disabled players

Last week I got an e-mail from the US Chess Federation advertising the Western States Open tournament which takes place starting October 14 at the Sands Regency in Reno. The notice coincided with last weekend's Sacramento Chess Championship tournament held at the Holiday Inn Express near Cal Expo.

As you may know, I have physical disabilities and the timing of the e-mail just days before the Sacramento tourney gave me pause to ponder how differently chess tournaments operate in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

I attended last year's Western States Open and I attended last weekend's Sacramento Chess Championship and witnessed the stark contrast between the opinions I formed about how well disabled chess players are treated in Reno compared to Sacramento.

I was treated so poorly in Reno last year that I contemplated giving up chess altogether but as bad as Reno was, Sacramento was just that much better.

Encapsulating the humiliating abuse (IMHO) that I faced in the Reno tournament, primarily at the hands of TD Jerry Weikel, the story begins at a previous Weikel tournament in 2019, the Larry Evans Memorial, where I played for the first time needing reasonable accomodations due to my physical limitations, including congestive heart failure and arthritis. I was assigned an easily accessible table with adjacent room for my motorized mobility scooter to be parked.  

I was assigned the same table for each round and it's number was changed each round to reflect the same table number as the pairings sheets.

Fast forward to the 2021 Western States Open, where I checked in the night before without the mobility scooter but with my jumbo rollator walker instead. I was told that they remembered me from the last time and assured me that they would accomodate my needs. In the first round, I was assigned the same table as in 2019.

Second round was when the problem arose as I was assigned to a table on the other side of the room which was not accessible to me and my rollator. I assumed that I was at my usual table and that they would be bringing the table number to it as they had in 2019.  Long story short, Jerry Weikel approached me about 20 minutes after the round started and in a hostile and vociferous manner, lambasted me for being at the wrong table. I attempted to calmly explain what had transpired. Jerry's wife, Fran approached moments later and apologized profusely for having forgotten that I was disabled and consequently had assigned me to an inaccessible table. This seemed to make Jerry more hostile and he reluctantly summoned my opponent from the inaccessible table, moving the game to the appropriate table where I was set up. He then announced that my clock would be docked 20 minutes. I told him that there was no basis for penalizing my time but he insisted and set the clock himself. I tipped my king, forfeiting the game rather than playing it under a baseless time penalty.

I moved out of the tournament hall and Jerry followed me out, demanding to know if I was going to continue on in the tournament. I told him I didn't know how I would feel about the situation until the third round, scheduled for the next morning. Jerry then added another level of abuse by requiring me to be in the tournament hall an hour before the third round started. The rules posted by Jerry for this tournament call for a player to be forfeited if they are one hour or more late for a round. I pointed out to him that I could actually be 59 minutes late and still play according to his own rules. He became livid and called me an As$hole and reiterated that I was expelled from the tournament if I didn't show an hour early next morning. I had no intention of complying with another baseless penalty and packed my bags and headed home.

I have subsequently requested an apology and a refund which he has steadfastly denied. That is how Weikel tournaments treat disabled chess players. I beleive that Weikel has a deep resentment for ADA and for disabled players that need a reasonable accomodation in order to participate in the game we all love.

Fast forward to 2022 in Sacramento where the Sacramento Chess Club offered the 24th Annual Sacramento Chess Championship at the Holiday Inn Express last weekend.

Now the Holiday Inn Express doesn't feature gaming or a buffet (or any dining facility at all) like the Sands Regency, but this tournament actually drew 111 entrants compared to 201 at the Western States Open, in spite of a smaller prize fund (top prize of $800 vs Reno $2000).

Tournament director John McComiskey had some serious challenges to boot, starting with the hotel being renovated resulting in a severe reduction in space for players. He made arrangements for the reserve section to play at an adjacent hotel (the Hampton Inn). He had not one but three disabled entrants, one in each of the three sections. Each was treated respectfully whether he was a master or e player and the reasonable accomodations were cheerfully made. 

The other two guys were in wheelchairs and I was in the 2 day schedule (Sun-Mon) but came Saturday to see if it would be better for me to bring my wheelchair or the infamous jumbo rollator walker. I opted for the rollator.

Everything went off without a hitch, attesting to the excellent organizational and tournament director skills of McComiskey and his crew of volunteers, including an assistant TD who was on hand during play at the Hampton. 

Though my negative experience in Reno caused me to consider giving up OTB chess altogether, my very positive experience in Sacramento has restored my desire to push wood when possible. You will not see me pushing it in Reno, however.