All national chess tournaments postponed till May 31

 As a precautionary measure against coronavirus, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) has postponed all national championships till May 31.

In a statement, AICF Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan on Friday said the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared coronavirus as a pandemic.

He said the central government has advised that huge gatherings should be avoided which in turn means cancellation of chess tournaments where there is participation and presence of players, parents, children and arbiters and volunteers.

"All the national championships to be held till May 31 stay as postponed and new dates will be notified soon.

"The state associations are requested to avoid any state level events till April 15. If they do so, the AICF will not be responsible or accountable for their actions," Chauhan added.

According to him, tournament organisers who have planned FIDE rated events till April 15, have been requested to reschedule their events. The risk increases in FIDE rated opens due to huge participation.

On March 11, the Asian Chess Federation announced postponement of all chess events until the end of June as a precautionary measure.

The Asian Chess Federation said that all its Arbiters and Trainers Seminars will be conducted online wherever possible to avoid public gatherings. IANS