As India readies to host Chess World Cup, Nationals witness monkey invasion, power cuts and leaking tents

NEW DELHI: “Honestly, it made me feel like I was the president of a small country,” quipped 22-year-old American Grandmaster (GM) Hans Niemann after his opening-round draw with black pieces against three-time national champion Wesley So at the US Chess Championship on Sunday.The reason for such an amusing remark, however, had little to do with the result of the game; it was the sight of the chief arbiter standing beside the board, holding an umbrella to block sunlight from So’s face.Decoding how a professional player should be treated when they represent a sport at the highest level, the very image from the match, held at the plush Saint Louis Chess Club in Missouri, has already garnered mass appreciation.Now, cut to India, where sunlight was the least of the players’ worries. Rather, it was the monkeys, the power cuts, the leaking tent, and just about everything else that tested the players’ patience.Only a fortnight has passed since GM Iniyan P lifted the 62nd National Chess Championship title, this time hosted in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Yet, the conversation in India’s chess circles is not about the winner, but about the playing conditions.

GM Sethuraman SP, a 32-year-old two-time national champion and Olympiad medallist, posted on X on October 5. “The 62nd Indian National Championship felt more like a survival challenge than a chess tournament,” he wrote. “Monkeys on the shamiana, rainwater dripping onto boards, power cuts during time trouble, it had everything except proper conditions.”

But the chaos at this year’s National Championship was far too serious to be captured in a few posts on X.

When TimesofIndia.com reached out to some of the participants, the stories that emerged painted a scary picture.“Rainwater was dripping, and there was some flooding at the tournament venue, which was basically a tent,” said one player who spoke on condition of anonymity.“This actually happened in the first round when they had installed a few air coolers, but the cooling reached only specific boards; it wasn’t an overall air-conditioning system.

It felt like an outdoor setting since it was a tent."There were monkeys jumping on top of the tent, making noise. It was distracting as well. One monkey even came inside the tent."The championship was held inside a large makeshift tent in a function area of Vignan University, which had been partitioned into sections. Inside was the tournament hall, while parents waited outside. Around 400 players were crammed into the tent, and with limited air-conditioning, organisers also struggled to provide adequate seating for such a large number of participants.When players raised concerns about the deteriorating playing conditions, the organisers responded, “This is the only way we could accommodate 400 players.”If the monkeys and weather were not enough, power cuts added to the drama.“Power cuts happened three or four times on the first day,” the player added. “Some games were in time trouble, and the lights went out. It was chaotic. Luckily, they fixed it after the first day.”The food arrangements weren't up to the mark either.“The food was okay, but the same every day,” a source revealed to Timesofindia.com. “There was no non-vegetarian option, so not much protein.”After the chaotic first day, the organisers reportedly fixed most of the issues. Yet, the image of monkeys leaping on the roof and water dripping over boards stuck in the minds of many.In a post, Sethuraman revealed that All India Chess Federation (AICF) President Nitin Narang had called him personally and assured him that the federation would “take the matter seriously” and that “better standards will be ensured in future events”.

India is set to host the prestigious FIDE World Cup in Goa later this month, and the chaos at the national championship has cast an uncomfortable spotlight on the country’s ability to stage major tournaments.Besides the playing conditions, GM RB Ramesh, one of India’s most respected coaches and mentors to stars such as R Praggnanandhaa, R Vaishali and Aravindh Chithambaram, weighed in with a sharp post of his own.

“What a lineup in the US National Chess Championship!” he wrote on X.

“For over two decades, most chess players in India have dreamed of a closed National Championship where the top players compete for the National title. It is unfortunate that we have not come up with a format that encourages and incentivises top players to play in India. India is the strongest chess-playing nation in the world, with the weakest National Championship.

”With Indian chess at its peak and a generation of prodigies rising fast, the country has never been stronger on the board. Yet, it is also where the brightest talent can be tested, not by an opponent’s move, but by leaking roofs, power cuts, and unexpected visitors swinging from the ceiling.