Sport - Chess   

Organisational inability takes centrestage

By Rakesh Rao

LUCKNOW SEPT. 19. Even after holding the Pilloo Mody international rating chess tournament 23 times in the past, the organisers have not grown any wiser. Terrible playing conditions, chess pieces fit for hobby players, inadequate lighting, scarcity of chess clocks and absolutely no respect for time. That, in short, was the tale of the first day of what is among the oldest open tournaments in the country.

The opening round was scheduled at 4 p.m. but the two playing halls were far from ready. Organising Secretary Naveen Wal attributed the delay to late entries. But then, according to some of the seasoned players, this is a permanent feature of this annual event. The round finally got underway past 6.30 after the original pairing was revised within minutes of being displayed.

"I come mentally prepared for all this because this happens every year. A couple of years ago, the first round commenced around 8 p.m. and finished past midnight," said an IM even as organising secretary Naveen Wal readily agreed.

"You see, in the first round, this kind of delay doesn't mean much because strong players meet weak opponents and the matches get over very quickly. So we don't face any problem," was Wal's strange explanation.

Shocking was the fact that the top two boards, when Sriram Jha and R.B. Ramesh were playing, in that order, did not have chess-clocks well after the round had commenced. Mercifully, two clocks were hurriedly organised and put in place.

The conditions inside the playing hall were deplorable to put it mildly. As the humidity inside the room was not bad enough, the fans over the top boards were non-functional. "I got these rooms opened only for this tournament. Otherwise they are kept locked," said Wal without any regret.

It is truly shocking why the All India Chess Federation does not ensure appropriate playing conditions in the open tournaments in the country. After all, the AICF charges 10 per cent of the prize-money from the organisers. One wonders why the AICF can't provide the needy associations adequate number of chess clocks.

Worse, the AICF has never really taken any organiser to task for making the players play in poor conditions, as experienced in the Moti Mahal Hall here. The Organising Committee is headed by Mr. P.C. Chaturvedi, a senior IAS officer and the Vice-President of the AICF. He was nowhere to be seen on the opening day.

As things are happening here, there is no real hope of it improving a great deal. The International Masters playing here say that the playing conditions are terrible. However, they are not making any noise because of the excellent boarding and lodging provided by the host.

"That is the only saving grace of this tournament," said a seasoned IM. But the number of players enjoying this hospitality are less than 15. Most among the outstation players in the field of 178 are availing of the dormitory accommodation provided by the organisers. Even they are in no position to complain openly.

In such a scenario, the organising committee is getting away with anything. Is the AICF listening?

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