Settling dues & conducting hybrid national tourney immediate target: AICF’s Chauhan

By Venkatachari Jagannathan Chennai, Jan 12 : The new team at helm of All India Chess Federation (AICF) will start settling its dues once its bank account is de-freezed and plans are afoot to conduct the national chess championship in a hybrid model, a senior official has said.
He also said the federation will also initiate the process for starting Indian Chess League (ICL) and is looking forward to a smooth litigation free functioning for the benefit of all the stakeholders.
“All the pending dues for the employees, tournament organisers and others will be settled soon once the AICF bank account is unfrozen. As per my reckoning, the grants received from the central government will be about Rs 30 lakh for organising tournaments last year. The tournament organisers will be paid their dues. Similarly, dues of employees and others will be settled,” Bharat Singh Chauhan, who was recently re-elected as the secretary, told IANS.
The chess body’s accounts were frozen by the Indian Bank following the elections and its cancellation by the Madras High Court early last year and the confusion as to who is the authorised signatory for banking transactions.
“Steps are being taken so that the federation is back on the rails. The Election Officer appointed by the Madras High Court has submitted his report to the court. The signed copy of the election papers was given to us. We have also sent the papers to FIDE, the global chess body to recognise the new team at the helm,” Sanjay K Chadha, Legal Counsel for Chauhan, told IANS.
Chauhan does not foresee the team which lost the elections going to the court against the poll results.