The worst organized National Premier ever

We will come to the reasons behind the headline later. First of all let's focus on the chess. At the end of two rounds Aravindh Chithambaram was the sole leader with 2.0/2. In round three he was up against the National Challengers Champion Ravi Teja.

Rank after Round 3

Worst organized National Premier?

When the players arrived for the 54th National Premier they were informed that there is no venue where they could play. We reported this in the article that was published three days ago. Instead of the 16th, the tournament was delayed by a day and began on 17th of November. After three rounds were played the participants are faced with the same situation once again. The Lucknow Public School where the tournament is being held is no longer available.

One of the reasons quoted by organizer Anil Raizada is that the school is getting disturbed due to National Premier event. 14 players sitting together in one room with pin drop silence is the scene of the National Premier. There is absolutely no way in which they can disturb the proceedings of school.

Speaking to ChessBase India, top seed of the event Vidit Gujrathi said, "On the first day the organizers called us and said they don't have a tournament hall. This happened on the day that we were supposed to play the first round. Players decided to co-operate and everyone extended their hotel and flight bookings by one day. Now after three rounds the organizers call us again to the venue. He said that he doesn't have a tournament hall for the rest of the tournament. We spent four hours, yes four hours after the game, wasting our time and energy. It's so irritating that as a player I cannot do anything. Now it is 8 a.m. and I still don't know if there is a round or tournament happening?! How is a player supposed to play in such a chaotic and intolerable conditions. I don't think this is a way to organize a tournament where so much discomfort and trouble is caused to the players. This shouldn't happen at any tournament, let alone the highest valued National Championships."

The second seed of the event B.Adhiban said, "So far I am really not happy with the organisation, but I came here expecting the worst conditions. That's why I wouldn't mind continuing the tournament inspite of all this drama. But the organizers must provide a venue which is near the players' hotel."

GM Abhijit Kunte who is a respected organizer himself, spoke to ChessBase India, "If the organizers are not equipped to hold the tournament, the event should be postponed. It's very stressful. We want to prepare before the game, not check whether the venue is available or not. I don't want to play under such conditions. On the first day the chief arbiter rejected the venue. Why did AICF select it? And now the player's interests are also not being look after by the Federation. No office bearer until now has spoken with the players. According to me, the event shoud be postponed as it is an extremely important tournament. A qualification spot to the World Cup is at stake here."

GM Tejas Bakre said the following to ChessBase India, "Never in 25 years have I faced this problem of not having a venue. That too tournament of such stature. The organiser here just has to provide 7 boards. He doesn't have to provide accommodation, boarding, transport anything. It's the easiest of the tournaments to organise. I asked the organizers yesterday to show me allotment and cancellation letter of the venue. He didn't provide it. It's an insult to the players. The organizer should be banned and the players should be given back their expenses."

IM Abhishek Kelkar playing in his first National Premier wrote to us, " Two top players of the country, who are among best 100 players in the world, are playing. Organizers and AICF should have taken care of everything. After the third round we were called to the venue. Eight players had gone to the hotel, two were playing, four were there itself. We contacted all eight players and asked them to come. Abhijit and Vidit were not picking up their phone. I went and picked them up and came to the venue. Organizer has absolutely no clue of what is going on. He didn't provide exact reason why we are thrown out of current venue. He told us about a new venue which was 17 kms away from the current one. Everyone put down the idea of 17 km away venue as it nearly takes 45mins to reach in the traffic. The organizer has promised to search a new venue until 11 a.m. today."

One of the sources who wishes to remain unnamed said, "Lucknow is the headquarters of Chess Association of India (CAI). We all know about the issues between AICF and CAI. It is quite possible that CAI authorities used their power and influence to disrupt this tournament."

As on 20th November 10 a.m. there are some players who are seriously thinking about boycotting the event. And there are a few who want to play at all costs. The next few hours will decide whether the most important event in our country will continue or not. ChessBase India will bring you the updates. 

Update: Five players withdraw