Web games by chess officials

The International Chess Federation (Fide) has been widely criticized for its stubbornness and for organizing the candidates’ event in Russia. Even though he made a descent and postponed the tournament halfway through the other day, officials from the All-India Chess Federation (AICF) show no signs of slowing down in their fight for control.

The factions of Chennai and Delhi are engaged in a fierce battle for control and the power struggle has reached such a level that now two websites claim to be that of national chess. There are, of course, different identifiers for communicating with national chess.

A new website was developed in the space of more than a week by the Delhi faction, led by the secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan, while the Chennai faction, led by PR Venketrama Raja, supported by the Mumbai body, changed the official identifier for communication. Both groups, of course, claim theirs as the legitimate body.

“The secretary comes after the president, and the Chauhan faction also doesn’t have enough support from state units. We have the support of 20 associations ”, affirms RN Dongre, of Bombay Chess Association, who is a supporter of the Chennai faction. On the other hand, Chauhan said that until the end of the elections, the interim president should be Ajay Patel, who was declared president by the court-appointed returning officer. The decision was successfully challenged by the Chennai faction. The AICF has 32 affiliates.

“According to the constitution, Ajay Patel is to be the interim president. We have to wait for the end of the elections. I had to develop a website because the president denied me access. I sent a legal notice to the service provider, ”Chauhan said. Its website has a URL of www.aicf.org.in. The other website can be visited at www.aicf.in.

Meanwhile, the Chennai faction notified a new ID for official communication. An article on its website said, “This is to inform all of you that the official AICF email ID has been changed to office@aicf.in. The old emails indianchessfed@gmail.com and aicfsecy@gmail.com are no longer valid. Players, referees, tournament organizers and others are kindly requested to send your questions only to office@aicf.in. Chauhan, of course, insists that indianchessfed@gmail.com and aicfsecy@gmail.com are the legitimate identifiers.

The power struggle ended in the courts that wanted the elections to take place. But things could not progress due to the nationwide lockdown. The global body did not respond to a question in this document until time of printing.