Arjuna Awardee Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta has expressed frustration over the unresolved prize money for the Odisha Open title he won earlier this year, pointing to yet another case of state association mismanagement leaving players to suffer. The 16th International Grandmaster Chess Festival, organised by the All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA), was held in Bhubaneswar from January 16 to 24.The five-time Commonwealth gold medallist won the Category ‘A’ event with a score of 8.0/10, which carried a promised prize of Rs 5.5 lakh. The organisers assured Gupta that the amount would be transferred within two weeks. When that did not happen, he reached out to them again. Initially, they attempted to evade the matter, he said, before eventually ceasing to respond altogether.Speaking to The Indian Express, Gupta said: “The event got over around 24th–25th January. As the winner of the tournament, I was assured by the organiser that the transfer of the prize money would be done within a couple of weeks.”
“When that didn’t happen, I tried to chase them. They asked for some more time, and afterwards, they completely stopped responding altogether,” he added.
The Indian Express has learnt that not only Gupta’s Rs 5.5 lakh prize money, but the entire Rs 45 lakh prize fund of the Odisha Open remains unpaid by the organisers. Additionally, volunteers, arbiters and caterers are yet to be paid, as are appearance fees for a select few top Grandmasters.
The AOCA is currently going through an internal dispute, with the federation president and secretary turning against each other.
Chief organiser of the Odisha Open and General Secretary of AOCA, Debabrata Bhatta, has blamed federation president Satya Ranjan Pattnaik for the crisis. According to Bhatta, the association’s bank account has been frozen by Pattnaik after the latter accused him of financial wrongdoings, which resulted in the non-payment of prize money.Story continues below this ad
“I am trying to resolve this issue but my hands are tied as the case is ongoing in the Odisha High Court. Till the accounts are frozen, I can’t do anything,” Bhatta told The Indian Express.
Pattnaik, however, claimed that it was Bhatta’s mistakes and ignorance which led to the entire mess.
“There was no fund to organise this event. Even after repeated warnings from me, they didn’t listen and went on to conduct this tournament with lack of enough funds. Bhatta said he will give from his own pocket and created ruckus,” Pattnaik told this newspaper.
Pattnaik had initiated an inquiry and passed an order to suspend Bhatta in February 2026 during the Executive Committee Meeting for his failure to provide audit reports for the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26.Story continues below this ad
According to Pattnaik, Bhatta ignored the suspension and went on to conduct a General Body meeting in March where he had Pattnaik removed from his position of president. Pattnaik also claimed that if he unfreezes the association account, Bhatta will not pay the players their due prize money. Instead, he said, Bhatta would take the money for his own use.
Gupta disappointed with AICF
Gupta also expressed disappointment with the All India Chess Federation (AICF), which he blamed for being ignorant and failing to step in at the right time.
“So they have been having some problems in the state association for a while. But it was there beforehand itself. It was not like some association problem was happening during the tournament or after the event,” he said.
“But my point is, if AICF is affiliating this tournament, then they should check it beforehand. They should have certain legal documents stating whether they have a financial guarantee or not.”Story continues below this ad
Gupta said he did reach out to the AICF for help, but after multiple failed attempts to get any support, he was forced to seek intervention from the Sports Ministry.
“I kindly request the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to look into this matter and help ensur
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