All India Chess Federation


The All India Chess Federation is central administrative body for the game of chess in India. Founded in 1951, the federation is affiliated to Fédération Internationale des Échecs, the world body for chess. The AICF has produced champions Viswanathan Anand, Nihal Sarin, Pentala Harikrishna, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and many other grandmasters. The organisation is also in charge of managing women's chess in India. Its current headquarters is in Chennai.

History

The All India Chess Federation was registered in 12 December 1958 and was registered as a Society under the Societies Registration act of 1860.

Charges of bureaucratic interference

AICF has been repeatedly accused of bureaucratic interference. In October 2009, chess Grandmaster Humpy Koneru accused the AICF secretary DV Sundar of preventing her from participating in the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin. The same year the AICF was accused of arbitrarily banning grandmaster G N Gopal for not playing in a match.
In 2012, the AICF president N Srinivasan, was criticised for not supporting Viswanathan Anand in World Chess Championship 2010, by not trying to host the match in India.

Affiliates

Till date the federation has more than 30 affiliated state associations, 16 special members and 23 recognised academies as its constituents. Here is a list of them:

Affiliated state bodies

AICF has also played host to a number of major world events in India. Some of them are: