Chennai, Oct 14 (Chess news) The All-India Chess Federation (AICF) has signed an agreement with MPL Foundation towards sponsorship of all national championships for the next five years.

The Rs one crore deal will see the amount being raised by 20 per cent after every year, a press release said on Thursday.

The MPL Foundation, largely associated with gaming, will be the title sponsors of various national championships across all formats, starting from the Under-7 age groups. They become the first corporate sponsor to be associated with the AICF on a long-term basis, the release said.

AICF president Dr. Sanjay Kapoor hailed this as the dawn of a new era in Indian chess and said, "We have huge plans for the sport in the country. This is one of the first steps in that direction. We are committed to keep working for the betterment of chess with the vision of making India the number one chess-playing nation in the world." Indian chess has been on a roll in recent times with the women’s team recently winning its first ever silver medal in the World Team Championship in Spain recenty while the unified squad clinched a bronze in the Online Chess Olympiad prior to that.

AICF Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan welcomed MPL into the chess family.

According to the release, the new team of office-bearers at AICF since taking over in January this year had taken efforts for the welfare of the players including creating Covid relief fund for the chess fraternity and a welfare fund of Rs 50,00,000 for players and arbiters for emergency assistance. 

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News Source : PTI