Friday, February 17, 2006

AICF in Trouble

When I visited the Australian Championships in Brisbane earlier this year, I experienced one particular moment that will surely remain with me for some time. Comparing Philippine chess to the Australian situation, an IM (who shall remain nameless) said something like, "Australian chess, very small, but many idiots!"

No matter how much I try to believe this, the local environment is really not that bad. Take RP chess. The bastards over at the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) still haven't paid their dues to FIDE. We discovered this last year and I'm afraid that this dereliction of duty by the NCFP has its ill-effects. I'll let Bobby Ang tell you all about it.

And over the last few days, the latest news coming from India is that the AICF has been effectively muzzled. The Hindu reports that this governing body "has been restrained by the Madras High Court from collecting any funds from the Government or any other bodies or players in its capacity as a 'valid registered society'."

We might have our own issues here, as the drama queens keep reminding us sometimes, but I tell you - it's not that bad!

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