BHUBANESWAR: The All India Chess Federation (AICF) has granted institutional membership to KIIT (deemed to be) University in recognition of its efforts in the promotion of chess in Odisha and across the country.
The institution is the only private educational institute in the country to become a member of AICF. The unanimous decision was taken at its special general body meeting. KIIT has been organising several annual grandmaster tournaments besides international and national chess tournaments.
It has helped Odisha produce two grandmasters - Debasis Das and Swayam Mishra. With this status, KIIT can conduct various tournaments and various chess-related activities directly under the aegis of AICF. While the federation members lauded the efforts of KIIT and KISS founder Achyuta Samanta for taking chess in Odisha to new heights, he expressed his gratitude to chairman of FIDE advisory board Bharat Singh Chauhan, Ranjan Mohanty, joint secretary of AICF and all the members of All Odisha Chess Federation for their support.