Bharat Singh to head Indian chess federation

Chennai - Former international V. Hariharan took over as secretary of the All-India Chess Federation while Bharat Singh was appointed Chief Executive Officer at the AGM held here.

According to an AICF press release issued today, Kishore Bandekar from Goa was nominated as the joint secretary in place of Hariharan while Bharat Singh has agreed to serve as the CEO, but has declined a salary.

Hariharan replaced Bharat Singh who had to step down as per the government guidelines on tenure of office bearers in national federations, the release added.

Hariharan is a former National A player and represented India in the Asian Team Chess Championship held at Singapore in 1987. He is also a qualified FIDE arbiter and currently the rating officer of AICF. He is also general secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Chess Association.

Besides other decisions, the AICF approved a lifetime ban on Delhi player D.K. Chopra who was found guilty of various misdeeds during the past four years. Several complaints were received, especially regarding his misbehaviour with women and children, during tournaments, the release said.