Chess Players Forum urges Andhra govt to exclude Chess.com from banned betting sites

CHENNAI: The Chess Players Forum (CPF), an association of chess players in India, will write to the Andhra Pradesh government seeking removal of the ban on the website Chess.com. In a recent amendment of the AP Gaming Act, the Andhra government banned 132 websites to prevent online gaming, gambling and betting. Chess.com is among those.

Officials of CPF are of the opinion that Chess.com is not a gambling site. According to them, it is a useful platform for upcoming and seasoned chess players, where they can play, learn and improve their game by various means. Their letter to the Andhra government is expected to be sent on Wednesday. Some prominent players from the state are likely to endorse it.

Describing Chess.com as a beneficial medium for players, CPF secretary V Saravanan said: "It's good for training, playing and overall understanding of chess. For example, during the lockdown when no tournaments are held, one can stay in touch using this platform. Players can organise their own tournaments. Also, an upcoming player seldom gets the opportunity to play against strong players over the board. Using these platforms, one can play against players like Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura or Maxime Vachier-Lagrave."

Chess.com offers free registration and has some 40 million users. Some of its features are available for free, some require subscriptions. Users can play rapid and blitz time controls. Analysis, puzzles and teaching materials are also offered. It has hosted tournaments including this year's Online Chess Olympiad and Online Nations Cup.

In a letter to Ravi Shankar Prasad (union minister for communications, electronics and information technology) dated October 27, chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy wrote: "We have amended the AP Gaming Act, 1974 to include online gaming, online gambling and online betting as an offence through Andhra Pradesh (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which was notified on 25th September 2020."

The chief minister's letter added: "I would request you to direct all the Internet Service Providers to block all the gaming, gambling and betting websites and apps from access in Andhra Pradesh. A list of websites identified to be involved in online gaming, gambling and betting is being attached." Chess.com is 128th in that list.