Chess tournament postponed due to players’ protest

The Prime Bank International Rating Chess Championship, which was scheduled to start yesterday, had to be postponed after the participants protested that the entry fee is more compared to the prize money of the tournament. A letter of protest signed by 28 participating players was sent to the Chess Federation on Thursday night which said that the organisers Leonine Chess Club charged are charging a lot as entry fee while the prize money is comparatively smaller. It was learnt that the non-rated players had to pay Tk1,200 as entry fee in the Tk100,000 tournament. Manjur Hossain Jimmu, the general secretary of Leonine club, refused to reveal what amount Prime Bank are paying as sponsorship money, but said that he requested the federation last year to reduce the entry fee. "We requested the federation to reduce the entry fee for the non-rated from Tk1,200 to Tk500. But the federation rejected our proposal and said the prize money will not be changed," Manjur said to Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday. However, general secretary of Bangladesh Chess Federation Gazi Saiful Tarek admitted the claim, but also said that the entry fee is correct compared to the neighbouring countries. "Compared to countries like India and Nepal our entry fees are not that much. They take 2000-2500 Rupees as entry fee. For every international tournament we have to pay one Euro to FIDE (the world chess' governing body). We asked Leonine club to increase the prize money so the problem will be solved," said Tarek to Dhaka Tribune over phone. Both Tarek and Manjur also informed that they will sit for a meeting today and the new date from next month for the competition will also be decided. "We postponed the tournament for avoiding the dispute. According to the written claim from 28 players, we told Leonine to reduce the entry fee, increase the prize money and organise opening and closing ceremonies. If we get the green signal from them then we hope to start the tournament in June," said the vice president of Chess Federation Jahangir Islam.