KARACHI: When Pakistan achieved two titles in the recently concluded Chess Olympiad in Budapest, where Momin Fayzan and Ayat Asmi earned laurels, it seemed a platform had been laid for the sport to progress in Pakistan.

But the successes came amid the Chess Federation of Pakistan being embroiled in controversy surrounding its financial management and leadership.

Amid allegations of mismanagement and lack of transparency, the CFP’s decision to charge players 100 euros to participate has sparked debate, highlighting deeper issues within the federation.

CFP president Hanif Qureshi attributed the payment requirement to the federation’s account being frozen by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) due to an ongoing case.

“We had to charge players due to our accounts being frozen,” Hanif explained while talking to Dawn. “For the first time in our history, we’ve had our accounts audited and we’ll publish the report for transparency.”

Hanif emphasised the CFP’s non-governmental status that “as an NGO, we cannot cover everything from our pockets ... at some point, those who use the services must contribute.”

The CFP’s move to charge players has given more ammunition to its detractors, notably Raja Gohar Iqbal, the federation’s finance secretary who is leading the movement to oust Hanif, alleging mismanagement, financial irregularities and lack of transparency.

Hanif had banned Raja in October last year following allegations of financial embezzlement with CFP’s general secretary Umer Khan also being banned on the same charges six months later.

Raja, though, challenged the decision and was reinstated after PSB issued a report in July, declaring Raja’s ban as illegal and without jurisdiction. In the report, the CFP’s account was also suspended until an audit was carried out.

Raja approached the PSB as well as the Ministry for Inter-Provincial Coordination demanding an audit by the auditor general of Pakistan.

“I wrote to them that the account involved in the financial embezzlement should be banned,” Raja told Dawn.

The leadership conflict continues to hamper the players.

“At the Olympiad, players were charged a fee of 100 euros for miscellaneous expenses, including low-quality shirts and transportation within Hungary,” Momin, who earned the Candidate Master title in Budapest, told Dawn, “I know for a fact that the transportation costs amounted to around 8000 forints (roughly 7000 PKR), or 20 euros.”

He also slammed the CFP for sending a captain with an 800 ELO rating to the Olympiad.

“It’s absurd to think that they didn’t invite someone like Inter­nati­onal Master (IM) Mahmood Lodhi or FIDE Master Waqar as the captain instead,” added Momin, who began playing chess competitively at 14.

POWER STRUGGLE

The power struggle at the top is the byproduct of a fallout.

Hanif’s election as CFP chief in 2022 was supported by Raja, who was later disillusioned with his leadership.

“I didn’t know much about him at that time,” he says, adding that Hanif had failed to provide funding for tournaments in Punjab.

“I shouldered the financial burden, organising over 40 tournaments without any support from the president,” he claimed.

The PSB’s report also mentioned that Hanif had tried to sideline the Balochistan Chess Association.

“Umer was suspended after he gave the affiliation letter to reinstate the Balochistan association,” added Raja.

The situation escalated when Hanif called a meeting in February without inviting representatives from Sindh, Balochistan, and Gilgit, sparking concerns about a parallel body being formed — a scenario that previously led to Pakistan’s ban by global chess body FIDE.

Raja challenged the meeting, and the court issued a stay order. He claims he has “all the records of two tournaments where Rs25,000 were collected as entry fees” — for which he’s been charged with embezzlement.

Reinstated by the PSB, Raja has turned the tables on Hanif. As many as 14 out of 17 members who had voted for Hanif are now supporting his impeachment.

PLAYERS SUFFERING

The uncertainty at the helm of the CFP, meanwhile, has players questioning their futures.

“If things don’t improve, I may have to consider switching federations to Canada once I’ve earned a higher title,” Momin, who has set his sights on the IM title in the next couple of years, stated. “I want to see chess in Pakistan flourish, but that won’t happen without proper support for both current top players and promising young talents.”

On his own, he’s seeking sponsors to initiate a year-long training camp for Pakistan’s top talents.

Although he admits the current CFP management is better than the previous one, he feels that the federation can do more.

“The federation is involved in a number of ceremonial actions such as recognition of Mir Sultan Khan as Pakistan’s Grand Master. But what does the CFP does to support it’s upcoming players?

“The players fund their own trips, how is this an achievement for federation?” Momin asked. “The world sees these superficial actions and assumes Pakistan is making progress. But in reality, very little is being done.”

Hanif argues that he’s done a lot since taking over, citing CFP’s receipt of the best chess federation excellence award out of 56 Asian chess federations.

He emphasised his commitment to developing Pakistani chess, noting partnerships with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan for youth exchange and training programmes, whilst asking the PSB to fund professional coaches.

FUTURE IN THE BALANCE

At this point in time, however, Hanif’s future as well as that of chess in Pakistan hangs in the balance.

Raja has proposed two solutions: accepting Hanif’s presidency if he acknowledges everyone’s legitimacy until 2026 or pursuing constitutional agendas to impeach him.

The cloud over the CFP’s leadership has divided the chess community with critics demanding greater transparency and accountability.

“If truth be told, it’s a very difficult task, and I don’t know how long I can continue,” Hanif admitted. “It’s hard to keep going when people don’t care or aren’t interested. Or both.”

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2024