Kapoor trumps Raja to become new AICF head

CHENNAI: A Kanpur businessman, Sanjay Kapoor, is the new president of the All India Chess Federation (AICF). In the elections held online on Monday, Kapoor beat incumbent and Tamil Nadu heavyweight, PR Venketrama Raja 33-31. The panel headed by Kapoor won the other important posts as well. BS Chauhan defeated RM Dongre 35-29 to remain the secretary. Naresh Sharma edged Kishor Bandekar 34-30 to become treasurer.This brings to end over a year of acrimony between the factions headed by Raja and Chauhan. 

These two groups differed over almost everything until the last moment, as Chauhan remained suspicious of the election process conducted by court-appointed electoral officer Justice (retd) K Kannan. Ultimately, both sides appeared satisfied with the online system, where voters received a notification on who they voted for. This was the first AICF election after 2005 to witness contests.Despite the backing of the seasoned Chauhan, Kapoor’s success was far from certain. Raja is a noted industrialist, who has supported chess for long. 

His company sponsored Viswanathan Anand in his early years as a professional player. President of Uttar Pradesh Chess Association, Kapoor was a relatively lesser-known figure in chess circles. That he trumped Raja underlines the organising skills of Chauhan, who was the heart and soul of the campaign against Raja and his lieutenants.

While the Chauhan camp rejoiced saying “truth has prevailed”, their defeated rivals cried foul by saying that some of their supporters were coerced into voting for the Chauhan panel. Such talk, however, will not hold water unless someone files a formal complaint and proves these allegations in court. That appears unlikely at the moment. For the moment, the AICF will hope that it functions smoothly after a long time under a president whose state is not known for producing a lot of chess talent.