The Hindu : Sport / Chess : Players contemplate protest

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 20, 2004

Sport

Sport - Chess

Players contemplate protest

By P. K. Ajith Kumar

VISAKHAPATNAM, DEC. 19. The black badge of protest might just make a return to Indian chess in some form or the other.

During the International GM tournament at Pune in September, some of India's leading chess players had worn black badges, protesting the All India Chess Federation (AICF)'s decision to cut 10 per cent of the players' prize money from tournaments held in India. The AICF then decided in its annual general meeting (AGM) in Kochi on November 19 not to have the cut from January 1.

The players, however, felt "this unethical rule should have been removed from the date of inception." They wrote, through the Indian Chess Players' Association, to the AICF, requesting to withdraw the rule with immediate effect. They also wanted a refund of the prize-money that had been deducted from them.

"We have received no reply from the federation so far," Abhijit Kunte, speaking on behalf of the players, told The Hindu shortly after the conclusion of the 42nd National `A' chess championship here on Saturday.

"All of us feel that it's unfair for the rule to be still in force. And there's also this situation of not implementing the cut in select tournaments, like the National `A' here."

It's learnt that the players are contemplating to make some kind of a protest during one of the two major tournaments scheduled to be held next month, the GM tournament in Delhi and the Asian individual championship in Kochi, if their demands are not met. "We don't want to go on protesting forever, as our first priority is to play chess, but we would be forced to demonstrate our feelings in some way if the federation is not willing to listen to us," he said.

Koya responds

When contacted, Mr. Koya told The Hindu from Kozhikode that he also was hoping to meet the players. "I couldn't come because I wasn't feeling well during the tournament's inauguration and today I had to meet the Kerala Chief Minister to discuss the Asian championship in Kochi," he said.

He reiterated that the AICF would stand by the decision taken at the AGM last month. "We introduced the cut only to generate resources for the development of the game. As for there being no cut at the National `A', that's because the organisers are paying the AICF the equivalent amount. The federation is happy with such a solution. We never wanted to tax the players. But the fact remains that the prize-money cut is announced well before the tournaments. So the players must be aware of it when they decide to participate in an event. And one shouldn't also forget that we are increasing the prize-money all the time. At the Asian meet in Kochi we will be distributing $33,000," Mr. Koya said.

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