Documentary on blind chess players to release in India soon

"Algorithms", a documentary on blind chess players, will be releasing in metros across India on August 21.

The film, directed by sociologist and documentary filmmaker Ian McDonald, will be released by PVR Director's Rare. It will be screened in theatres across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi.

"Algorithms" is a documentary on the thriving but little known world of blind chess in India.

Filmed for over three years, the award-winning documentary travels with three young blind chess players, one champion player-turned-pioneer and their story of competing in the national and world level chess championships.

"Ian McDonald has made a very soulful film and we are glad to present it. The movie will take you through aspirations, hope and excitement of young blind chess players; it is definitely one of the best documentaries to come out in a while," Sanjeev Bijli, joint managing director, PVR Group, said in a statement.

McDonald said that the film is "my first feature documentary; it is extremely close to my heart. It has gone across festivals in various countries, and appreciated. I am hopeful that the Indian audience will also find a connection with my movie."

It won the Audience Award at the Royal Anthropological Institute Film Festival for Ethnographic Film, Edinburgh in 2013 and received a Special Mention in the Best Documentary category at the Durban International Film Festival the same year, among other honours.

The movie stars visually challenged chess players Chardudatta Jhadav, Darpan Inani, Sai Krishna and Anant Kumar Nayak.