New Delhi: Four months after winning the Odisha Open title in January, Arjuna Awardee Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta is still waiting for his Rs 5.5 lakh prize money. What began with organisers asking him to “wait a little longer” soon turned into calls going unanswered and WhatsApp messages being ignored. Gupta is not alone—nearly 250 chess players who participated in the tournament are yet to receive the money they earned. A total prize money worth Rs 45 lakh is now locked in the fight between two warring officials—a former president and the serving secretary.
The 16th International Grandmaster Chess Festival, organised by the All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA), was held in Bhubaneswar from 16 to 24 January. After receiving no response from Odisha organisers, Gupta reached out to officials of the All India Chess Federation (AICF), including its president and secretary, hoping the issue would be resolved. However, he said he did not receive any response from them either.
“It’s not just about the money or the delay. Delays in prize money can happen, and players understand that. What is more disappointing is the complete lack of communication from the authorities, who are not even responding to our calls or messages,” said Gupta, who has declared he won’t ever participate in tournaments in Odisha.
What initially appeared to be a procedural delay in prize money by the organisers was later attributed to issues such as frozen association accounts. The fiasco has exposed a deeper crisis in Odisha’s chess administration that goes well beyond internal disputes within the association. Allegations of financial irregularities, administrative chaos, fund freeze, and halted government support by the Sports Authority of Odisha have placed the functioning of the AOCA under close scrutiny. Amid this controversy, players are also losing faith in the AICF—the national governing body—for being a mute spectator.
The controversy has raised larger concerns about transparency and accountability in state-level sports bodies, especially when players, arbiters, and even event workers remain unpaid months after a major international tournament.
Amit Kumar Nayak, Deputy Secretary of the Sports & Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha, wrote to the AICF president on 21 April, seeking an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the AOCA.
The letter came after complaints from district chess associations, players, and parents. The department asked the national body to investigate the allegations and submit an action report to the government.
“In enclosing herewith, the grievance petition from members of various district chess associations and guardians of chess players regarding widespread financial looting and administrative anarchy within the All-Odisha Chess Association (AOCA), which is self-explanatory, may kindly be perused,” the letter said.
ThePrint has reviewed a copy of the letter.
As a sportsperson, you learn to accept losses more often than victories — that is part of the journey. But what hurts even more is winning and still not receiving what you rightfully earned.
I won the Odisha Open in January 2026. The organizers assured me that the prize money…
— Abhijeet Gupta (@iam_abhijeet) May 9, 2026
What’s happening inside AOCA
On 9 March, frustrated by the lack of communication, Gupta publicly raised the issue of the unpaid prize money through a post on X. After he tagged the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Gupta said he received a call from the AICF assuring him that the matter would be resolved and action would be taken to clear the dues.
“They called and assured that the issue would be resolved, but there is still no clarity about anything—when and how we will get the money,” Gupta said.
Gupta added that several other players contacted him regarding pending payments, seeking updates on their dues. He added that the issue was not just financial but also about recognition and respect for players.
“If this can happen to someone who has been honoured with the Arjuna Award, one can only imagine the challenges faced by players at the grassroots level,” he said. “Prize money is not just about finances, it is deeply connected to emotions and recognition for a player.”
As players continued to seek answers, Gupta and others reportedly tried to understand the reason behind the delay. For months, they received no clear explanation. Later, Gupta learned that the bank account of the AOCA had allegedly been frozen since December 2025, preventing financial transactions.
Around 1,400 players participated in the tournament, and nearly 250 winners are still awaiting their prize money, amounting to an estimated Rs 45 lakh in total pending payments.
At the centre of the controversy is a power struggle within AOCA, with officials blaming each other for the crisis.
The conflict largely began with the suspension of secretary Debabrata Bhatta by then-president Satya Ranjan Pattnaik, allegedly over financial irregularities and failure to submit audit accounts. Pattnaik took charge in February 2025.
According to Pattnaik, Bhatta was suspended during an Executive Committee meeting in February 2026 for failing to provide audited financial reports for 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Challenging his suspension, Bhatta filed a writ petition against Pattnaik in the Orissa High Court on 7 March. The Court issued notices to AOCA, the AICF, the Inspector General of Registration, and Pattnaik.
Bhatta, who was also the chief organiser of the Odisha Open, blamed Pattnaik for the ongoing crisis. He alleged that Pattnaik froze the association’s bank account due to personal differences, which led to the non-payment of prize money.
“The matter is in court. We also want to pay the players, but because of Pattnaik’s actions and internal disputes, players are suffering,” he told ThePrint, adding that personal rivalry had worsened the situation.
Pattnaik, however, offered a different version. He claimed that despite Bhatta’s suspension, the secretary went ahead with a General Body meeting in March 2025 with more than 10 members, during which Pattnaik was removed from the post of president.
“I froze the account to protect the association’s money after people plotted against me and removed me from my position,” he said. He also alleged that government funding had been stopped because audit reports were not submitted on time.
A letter issued by the Sports & Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha, on 31 December 2025 supports this point, stating that grant-in-aid for 2025-26 could not be released due to the absence of mandatory audit reports for 2024-25. The department directed some other associations, including AOCA, to submit the required audit documents by 5 January 2026 to enable the release of funds.
“Kindly furnish the audit report for the year 2024–25 in person by 05.01.2026 positively to enable the department to release the fund,” the notice stated.
Pattnaik further claimed that even after repeated notices, audit records were not submitted, and despite knowledge of the account freeze, the tournament was still organised in January.
“This is how people are sitting in power even after tenure is over and playing with the future of the players,” he said.
ThePrint reached out to the AICF and is yet to receive an official response. However, an AICF official said that the view in the governing body is not to intervene and let the AOCA handle it themselves as the matter concerning the suspension of the secretary is still pending before the Orissa High Court.
Also read: Employees are AI-ready, but organisations holding them back, says new Microsoft study
‘Players are suffering’
Amid the ongoing blame game between officials and members of the AOCA, Abhijeet Gupta and several participants expressed disappointment with the AICF, accusing it of remaining silent and failing to intervene at the right time.
“They have been dealing with internal disputes within the state association for quite some time. The AICF and the Sports Ministry should look into the matter and take action soon,” said a participant of the event on condition of anonymity.
A parent of a chess player said that the internal disputes among officials are an old issue in the association.
“The government is giving money, but it is not reaching our kids or the players. Officials are playing their blame game, and only the players’ future are being crushed between their fights,” they said on condition of anonymity.
After Gupta’s post on X gained attention, several users on social media also questioned the response of the sports authorities and the AICF.
“Actions ‘initiated’ seems to be very vague and more like a cover-up statement by the AICF. @narangnitin Please tell us when the remedy has been completed — not just ‘initiated’. I suppose the money is in the pockets of the local organiser, perhaps already spent?” read a reply to a post by Gupta.
Actions "initiated" seems to be very vague and more like a CYA statement by the AICF. @narangnitin Please tell us when the remedy has been completed – not just "initiated".
I suppose the money is in the pockets of the local organizer – perhaps already spent??
— Krishna Pillai (@krishnasweden) May 10, 2026
In the post, Gupta wrote that Nitin Narang, president of the AICF, had called him and assured him that necessary action had been initiated. However, Gupta added that the players have still not been given any clarity regarding when the matter will actually be resolved.
“There are only assurances, but no clarity about what action will actually be taken. In all of this, we players are suffering,” Gupta said.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)