AICF Secretary Dev Patel Plans To Promote Chess At Grassroots Level, Make It Career Option

AICF Secretary Dev Patel: Getting the game of chess included in the National Games, Khelo India, taking chess to the schools and grassroots level to make more people play and showing that chess could be a career option are some of the plans of the newly elected Secretary of All India Chess Federation (AICF) Dev A. Patel.

He also said there is no such thing as the emergence of the Patel dynasty in the Indian chess management world. "I will work towards getting Chess to become part of the National Games, Khelo India. It is one huge barrier to be crossed," Dev Patel told IANS.

According to him, out of about 140 crore Indians, there are only about 23,000 AICF registered players.

"Chess can be a career option -- as a player, coach, arbiter and others -- if the game spreads at the grassroots level. It is a huge ecosystem. It will be the primary focus of us (the new management team)," Dev Patel said.

He has studied computer science and management economics in the US and worked there for Amazon. Dev Patel came back to India a year back and has been looking after the family's software company in Gujarat. He later became the President of Gujarat State Chess Association.

"I have been playing chess since I was a small kid. My favourite opening playing white is the English Opening. Now I play online chess," Dev Patel, the son of Ajay H. Patel, President of FIDE Zone 3.7, businessman and Senior Vice President, Indian Olympic Association.

The FIDE or the International Chess Federation has divided the chess world into continents and zones. India is an independent zone and is headed by Patel.

Incidentally, Ajay Patel was elected as the AICF President in 2021 but the Madras High Court had cancelled that election. In the subsequent election, he didn't contest for the President post again. However, he was later nominated as the President of FIDE Zone 3.7.

It is said another relative of theirs is also involved in chess administration. "There is nothing like the emergence of the Patel Dynasty in Indian Chess. My father has announced about his quitting the FIDE Zone President post," Dev Patel said.

He further said that former AICF President Sanjay Kapoor is likely to be nominated as the President of FIDE Zone 3.7. "There is no Patel Dynasty in Indian chess," he reiterated. Queried about roping in a celebrity ambassador to popularise the game, Dev Patel said: "Chess doesn't need a celebrity ambassador. We should focus on holding tournaments at the grassroots level. Then the game will spread on its own."

About his plans for the Indian Chess League announced by the earlier management and which did not take off, Dev Patel said the matter has to be discussed with the office bearers. According to him, there is unity now in AICF and the focus will be on spreading the game. Several chess players had told IANS that the AICF's funds are contributed by the players under different heads and the government also gives various grants. The players said that the administrators are fighting legal cases to settle personal scores with the funds contributed by the players and others, instead of spending them for the development of the game and the players.

According to the AICF's annual accounts, it had spent a whopping Rs 79.91 lakh as legal expenses in FY23, up from Rs 50,52,450 in FY22 and Rs 18,20,300 spent in FY21. In FY20, the Indian chess body had spent Rs 20,60,050 as legal expenses.

For the current fiscal (2023-24), AICF has budgeted Rs 50 lakh as legal expenses.

Queried whether the legal expenses of the AICF would go down under the new regime, Dev Patel said: "This is a new chapter with a new vision. There is unity amongst the managing committee. There are ongoing legal cases."

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at [e-mail])