New Delhi: Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta has alleged that that he is yet to receive the prize money for winning the Odisha GM Open 2026, nearly four months after the tournament ended.
Raising serious concerns over the treatment of chess players in India, the 36-year-old Arjuna awardee, expressed disappointment over what he described as a complete lack of accountability from both the tournament organisers and the All India Chess Federation (AICF).
The tournament, which featured several grandmasters, ended on January 24. The Category ‘A’ event carried a total prize purse of Rs 25 lakh, with the winner entitled to Rs 5.5 lakh. Gupta had emerged champion after scoring 8 out of 10, as reported by timesnow.in.
Gupta said he was initially assured that the payment would be processed within weeks.
“At that time, I was told by the organiser, ‘Your prize money will be transferred in a couple of weeks, so please don’t hassle… we are very busy.’ I didn’t bother much because it’s a normal practice in India that they don’t give the prize money in cash,” Gupta was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
However, no payment was received and Gupta followed up in March, after which all communication from the organisers stopped altogether.
“After a couple of months, they stopped answering altogether,” he added.
Gupta, a five-time Commonwealth Chess Championship winner then approached the national federation, AICF, pointing out that the event had been conducted under the federation’s affiliation. However, repeated attempts to seek intervention from the national body also went unanswered, he claimed.
“I felt that AICF is also responsible… if it’s under AICF, there has to be some accountability,” Gupta added.
He had written multiple emails to the federation’s President and Secretary since March but did not receive any reply, the Grandmaster revealed.
The issue goes far beyond personal financial loss, Gupta said. He stressed on the emotional strain such incidents place on young and aspiring players across the country.
“I’m already at that stage of my career where money doesn’t matter much. But imagine if some 10-year-old wins his first prize and doesn’t get it, what kind of precedent are we setting? If this can happen to someone honoured with the Arjuna Award, one can only imagine the struggles faced by players at the grassroots level,” he said.
Through a post on X, Gupta also urged the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to step in, calling for greater transparency and protection of the “dignity and trust of every chess player in India”.
His remarks have sparked a wider debate on social media regarding athlete welfare and administrative accountability in Indian sport.
AICF president Nitin Narang contacted Gupta following the public outcry and assured him that the matter was being addressed.
The chess player confirmed the development on X, Gupta and wrote: “The President of the All India Chess Federation, @narangnitin ji, called me and assured me that the necessary action has been initiated.”
