All posts tagged: AICF

India to host FIDE World Cup in 2025, AICF official confirms to The Indian Express

India to host FIDE World Cup in 2025, AICF official confirms to The Indian Express

Published by Webster

India will host the prestigious FIDE World Cup 2025 chess tournament this year. While FIDE initially named India as the host for the event on its website on Monday, later it changed the event’s details to state that the host will be announced soon. However, an official of the All India Chess Federation, who requested anonymity, confirmed to The Indian Express that India will host the tournament later this year. FIDE’s website states that the event will be held from October 31 to November 27. The FIDE World Cup offers the top three finishers a spot at the prestigious Candidates tournament, which is the pathway to become a challenger to Gukesh at the next World Championship. This is why for many of India’s top players like Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and R Praggnanandhaa, the FIDE World Cup will be an event to circle on their calendars. While the World Cup offers three spots in the eight–player Candidates tournament, it must be noted that 206 players compete for those three spots. The tournament is so notoriously …

INTERVIEW with AICF president Nitin Narang on India’s grand chess plan

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The historic double gold for India’s Open and Women’s teams at the Olympiad shifted the power equation in world chess and put the country’s GenNext players in the limelight. All India Chess Federation president Nitin Narang spoke to The Indian Express on the road ahead — India’s own player rating system, contracts for top players and the challenges of generating sponsorships. Excerpts: India has a bunch of very talented players. Do you see this as a big responsibility? Nitin Narang: The achievements of these golden boys and girls are because of their efforts and the sacrifices of their parents. When I was in Budapest for the Olympiad I saw how much parents were sacrificing. The federation’s role is to support players. Yes, there is a huge responsibility on my shoulders; one to continue the momentum, and second to make sure these players, who have outperformed everyone in the world, get the best of the facilities and support. How was the reaction of other players and fans during the Olympiad? Nitin Narang: India’s chess players were …

AICF announces 3.2 crores INR prize money for Indian Chess teams

Published by Webster

Delhi: The All India Chess Federation announced a big sum of money in rewards for the historic 45th Olympiad-winning Indian teams during a felicitation ceremony here on Wednesday. The winners will get a total of 3.2 crore INR with each player from the winning teams receiving Rs 25 lakh, while the coaches of the men’s and women’s teams, Abhijeet Kunte and Srinath Narayanan, will be rewarded with Rs 15 lakh each. Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua, head of the Indian delegation, will receive Rs 10 lakh, and the assistant coaches will be rewarded Rs 7.5 lakh. Announcing the reward, AICF President Narang said, “The hunger for gold ended in Hungary, but the desire for success continues. In the open section, we dominated and in the women’s section we owned it.” While the men’s team dominated throughout the tournament and assured the gold medal before the final round, the women’s team suffered a setback in between against Poland but came back stronger to win against Slovenia in the final round. Our players are sharpshooters on the chessboard. The …

AICF announces Rs 3.2 crore rewards for Olympiad-winning teams

Published by Parlour News

Image used for representative purpose only | Photo Credit: Reuters The All India Chess Federation announced a whopping ₹3.2 crore in rewards for the historic 45th Olympiad-winning Indian teams during a felicitation ceremony on Wednesday (September 25, 2024). AICF president Nitin Narang made the announcement during the event. Each player from the winning teams will receive ₹25 lakh, while the captains of the men’s and women’s teams, Abhijeet Kunte and Srinath Narayanan, will be rewarded with ₹15 lakh each. Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua, head of the Indian delegation, will receive ₹10 lakh, and the assistant coaches will be rewarded ₹7.5 lakh. “The hunger for gold ended in Hungary, but the desire for success continues. In the open section we dominated and in women’s section we owned it,” AICF president Narang said during the felicitation. “Our players are sharp shooters on the chessboard. The seeds planted by Vishwanathan Anand have grown into a forest.” AICF secretary general Dev A Patel said the historic twin gold medals will help in bringing a chess revolution in the country. “In …

AICF announces cash reward for Olympiad winners: Here’s how much the Indian chess teams will earn | Chess News

Published by Webster

The All India Chess Federation announced Rs 3.2 crore in rewards for Olympiad-winning Indian teams, AICF president Nitin Narang revealed in a felicitation ceremony on Wednesday. Each player from the winning teams will receive Rs 25 lakh, while the coaches of the men’s and women’s teams, Abhijeet Kunte and Srinath Narayanan, will be rewarded with Rs 15 lakh each. Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua, head of the Indian delegation, will receive Rs 10 lakh, and the assistant coaches will be rewarded Rs 7.5 lakh. “The hunger for gold ended in Hungary, but the desire for success continues. In the open section we dominated and in women’s section we owned it,” AICF president Narang said during the felicitation. “Our players are sharp shooters on the chessboard. The seeds planted by Vishwanathan Anand have grown into a forest.” AICF secretary general Dev A Patel said the historic twin gold medals will help in bringing a chess revolution in the country. “In 97 years of Chess Olympiad, we won gold in both categories. It’s a historic achievement,” Patel said. “This …

AICF loses the trophy won at 2022 Chess Olympiad, orders a new one

Published by Webster

In an incident of first-hand embarrassment, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) has lost the Chess Olympiad Trophy for best contingent won by India in the last edition. The trophy known as the ‘Nona Gaprindashvili Cup’ went missing from the office of AICF, forcing the sports body to arrange for a replica of the prized possession and tender an apology. It is a rolling trophy awarded to the best contingent. The incident came to light when the International Chess Federation (FIDE) asked for the trophy to be brought to Budapest. AICF vice-president Anil Kumar Raizada told PTI that the trophy has been missing for over a month and it came after the International Chess Federation (FIDE) had asked for the trophy to be brought to Budapest. “After we received a request from FIDE for the trophy to be brought, we could not trace it for over 30 days. As a result, we have filed an official police complaint, and an investigation will follow,” he said. The contingency plan is in place to get a replacement …

World Chess Championship: India seriously exploring possibility of hosting Gukesh vs Ding Liren, says AICF chief | Chess News

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All India Chess Federation’s chief Nitin Narang has confirmed there is a serious consideration to hold the World Chess Championship final between China’s Ding Liren and contender D Gukesh. The newly-elected office bearers of the AICF have lost no time in unveiling a host of measures to popularise the sport, which is currently in a state of boom in India. At last month’s Candidates Chess Tournament, India was represented by five grandmasters — with Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi competing in the Open section while Humpy Koneru and Vaishali Rameshbabu competed in the women’s event. India’s progress in the last couple of years in the sport of 64 squares was highlighted by 17-year-old Gukesh winning the title and becoming the youngest-ever World Chess Championship contender in history. The question that everyone is now asking is whether India will be bidding to host the World Chess Championship, which was last held in India in 2013 when Chennai witnessed Magnus Carlsen defeating Viswanathan Anand to become the world champion for the first time. Grandmaster D. Gukesh of …

Indian chess’s blueprint: AICF announce Rs 65 crore budget to popularise sport in every household | Chess News

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After a history-making month for Indian chess, the All India Chess Federation unveiled a host of initiatives to further popularise the sport in India, and revealed a whopping budget of Rs 65 crore. Last month, five Indian grandmasters — Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and Vidit Gujrathi in the open section and Humpy Koneru and Vaishali in the women’s event — had competed in the prestigious Candidates tournament. 17-year-old Gukesh went on to win the open section event, thus becoming the youngest player to qualify for the World Chess Championship battle. Now, to capitalise on that progress on the 64 squares, the Indian chess federation has announced a raft of initiatives such as having a chess development fund, introducing strong financial backing with player contracts and coaching at all levels, financially supporting district and state associations, setting up a state-of-the-art National Chess Arena (NCA) for elite-level training and an AICF Rating system specifically for India. AICF’s new president, Nitin Narang, unveiling the national chess federation’s blueprint at the AICF general body meeting on Saturday evening, pinpointed four significant …

All India Chess Federation announces Rs 65 cr budget for Chess ecosystem

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All India Chess Federation President Nitin Narang announced a 65 crore INR budget on Saturday to improve the ‘Bhartiya Chess’ ecosystem. The decision was taken after the conclusion of a meeting late Saturday evening. Other decisions were taken on key initiatives, including financial and institutional support for the professional players, along with the grassroots level players. AICF will launch two programs — AICF Pro and AICF Popular — to promote chess on a wider scale across the country. Among the other proposals discussed during the meeting were coming up with a chess development fund, introducing strong financial backing with player contracts and coaching across levels, financially supporting district and state associations, setting up a state-of-the-art National Chess Arena (NCA) for elite-level training and an AICF Rating system. Awarding Chess players and financial support The AICF will come up with two-year contracts for national-level players, from U-7 to U-19 age groups, disbursing funds ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 to players via Direct Benefit Transfer under the relevant categories. AICF will come up with cash …

AICF mulls bid for FIDE World Championship match between Gukesh and Liren

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The All India Chess Federation (AICF) is considering various avenues as it contemplates bidding for the hosting rights of the much-anticipated FIDE World Championship match between India’s D. Gukesh and Ding Liren. “We are internally assessing everything required to bid for it — understanding things like logistics, commercials and everything. Once we have a deeper understanding and a huge clarity on the dynamics, then we will be able to take a call,” AICF President Nitin Narang told PTI. The decision on the host city hinges upon the outcome of this internal assessment, as clarified by Narang. FIDE’s call for bids on Saturday unveiled the requirements for prospective bidders, including a budget of USD 8.5 million (approx. Rs 71 crore) and a facilitation fee of USD 1.1 million (approx. Rs 9 crore). The AICF has until May 31 to submit the bid, with FIDE set to allocate the prestigious tournament on July 1. The overall prize money, earmarked by FIDE, stands at around USD 2.5 million (Rs 21 crore approx), a notable increase from USD 2 …