CHENNAI: The All India Chess Federation (AICF) wants to cash in on the popularity of the game among school students. To that end, it plans to give the state units an annual grant of Rs 10 lakh each so that they take the initiative to get young boys and girls registered under the federation.
This proposal was tabled at the AICF’s Central Council meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. If members agree, it will have to be ratified by the general body at a future meeting. The plan involves an annual budget of Rs 3.30 crore, considering that AICF has 33 associations under it.
“Not that the state units will receive all the cash in hand. They will be given money to set up offices and employ staff needed to run their schools programmes. They have to fulfil certain conditions to be eligible for this. But the proposal needs the approval of the general body,” AICF secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan told this daily from New Delhi on Tuesday.
Chess is a fast-growing game in India and students form a substantial part of the player base. Although it was not said in as many words, AICF can recover a part of the money if this plan succeeds because it charges a registration fee of `250 for new players.
“The idea is to spread the game. AICF has to look for sponsors or tap other resources to generate the funds needed, if it gets the approval. Today AICF will spend and if things go to plans, the money will come back. There will be more players. The game will benefit.”
There are whispers in certain quarters of the AICF that this has been done to appease the members ahead of the elections next year. Other than giving the states Rs 10 lakh for the schools plan, the AICF is also willing to reduce its own share of participation fee from national tournaments. Across all age groups, 16 nationals are held every year and the money coming from entry fee is shared equally by the federation and staging associations. There are talks of increasing the share of the associations to 75 per cent.
Chauhan, however, says the money will not become the incentive for the state bodies. “It’s more about helping them reach out to schools and conduct tournaments. They need money also digitise the system.”