Chess Olympiad trophy missing from AICF headquarters!

An "embarrassed" All India Chess Federation (AICF) has filed a police complaint after a Chess Olympiad trophy its team won in the last edition of the tournament at home went missing from its office, forcing the sports body to arrange for a replica of the prized possession and tender an apology.

It is a rolling trophy, and the incident came at a time when the Indian men's team is closing in on the gold medal in the ongoing 45th edition of the Olympiad at Budapest.

AICF sources confirmed that the Gaprindashvili Trophy, given to the team with the best overall performance across open and women's divisions, has gone missing.

India was the last holder of the trophy, having won it here in 2022.

AICF vice-president Anil Kumar Raizada told PTI that the trophy has been missing for over a month and it came, after the International Chess Federation (FIDE) had asked for the trophy to be brought to Budapest.

"After we had received a request from FIDE for the trophy to be brought, we have been unable to trace it for over 30 days. As a result, we have filed an official police complaint, and an investigation will follow," he said.

A senior AICF official said that a "contingency plan is in place" and that "a replacement trophy" has already been ordered for the current edition.

"Yes, we tried to look for it all around following FIDE's request. However, we have been unable to locate it so far. It is indeed an embarrassing situation, and these things require utter responsibility," the senior official stated on the condition of anonymity.

"For now, a replacement trophy has been ordered. It won't be as unique as the original, but still, it will be close to the original one. We apologise for the mess."

The current edition of the Olympiad got underway on September 10 and is set to conclude on September 23.

A total of 197 teams representing 195 national federations are presently competing in the event.

For India, the open team consists of Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and Harikrishna Pentala.

As for the women, the side includes Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and Tania Sachdev.