Renowned Indian grandmaster and Arjuna award winner Abhijeet Gupta has called out the Odisha Open organisers over unpaid prize money after winning the tournament earlier this year. Abhijeet asked the sports ministry for assistance after he claimed that the organisers failed to deliver on their promise after repeated assurances.
Despite writing several letters to the All India Chess Federation (AICF), the Chess Olympiad medallist is yet to receive the cash award for winning the Odisha Open title earlier in the year. Abhijeet said that he reached out to the AICF to get the issue resolved, but received no response.
“I won the Odisha Open in January 2026. The organisers assured me that the prize money would be paid within a month. However, when I followed up later, they stopped responding.”
“Since the tournament was affiliated with the All India Chess Federation, I also reached out to the federation’s president and secretary, hoping the matter would be resolved fairly. Unfortunately, there has been no response from them either.”
“If this can happen to someone honoured with the Arjuna Award, one can only imagine the struggles faced by players at the grassroots level of chess in India.”
“I kindly request the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to look into this matter and help ensure that players receive their rightful prize money with transparency and accountability.”
“This is not just about one unpaid prize. It is about protecting the dignity and trust of every chess player in India,” said Abhijeet on X.
WHY DID ABHIJEET TURN TO SOCIAL MEDIA?
According to the report from PTI, the Odisha association is embroiled in infighting, with its bank account being frozen and the organisers being unable to pay the bills. Abhijeet said that the infighting in the Odisha association has been going on for years, and there was some responsibility from AICF.
“The infighting in the (Odisha association) has been going on for years. They conducted the tournament and it was affiliated by the AICF. So there has to be some responsibility on the part of the national federation,” said Abhijeet to PTI.
“I totally understand that (their account might have been frozen), but as a player what should I do? They should not have held the tournament in the first place. As a sportsperson, you win very less tournaments and you lose more… that’s what I feel in general,” added Abhijeet.
Abhijeet told PTI that the organisers owe him Rs. 5.5 lakh in prize money. The Chess GM sent a follow-up tweet to this saying that the president of the AICF, Nitin Narang, has assured him that the necessary action has been initiated.
“The President of All India Chess Federation @narangnitinji called me and assured me that the necessary action has been initiated!” said on Abhijeet on X.
According to a source within the AICF, the organisers have been unable to clear Gupta’s prize money due to financial restrictions caused by an ongoing dispute within the Odisha state chess association, which reportedly led to the freezing of its bank account.
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