AICF moves Ethics Commission

Taking an unprecedented step, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) has moved the FIDE (World Chess Federation) Ethics Commission seeking “necessary action as it deems fit” against Grandmaster K. Humpy.

The decision to act on a detailed complaint of the Delhi Chess Association was taken at AICF’s meeting in Chennai on June 28.

On June 25, Humpy surprisingly withdrew from the Commonwealth chess championship here after the Appeals Committee noted that there was “no transgression of FIDE laws” in declaring her “lost on time” in the fourth round.

Humpy had written to the Appeals Committee that she “suffered the loss” due to the “fault in announcement,” made two days previously by chief arbiter R. Srivatsan, about the time control.

Humpy’s action, conduct and the “reckless allegations” made thereafter have led to the complaint that has listed six breaches of the Code of Ethics, by the player.

If found guilty, the sanctions range from warning/reprimand, fine up to $25,000, revocations of titles (like Grandmaster) to ban up to 15 years on participation as a player, etc.

According to the complaint, “Only her ignorance of laws led to the incident. If she had any doubt, Humpy was within her rights to ask for clarification from the arbiters. She, however, chose not to seek any clarification.” The letter indicates Humpy breached Rule 2.2.4 which refers to, “Failure to comply with normally accepted standards of courtesy and chess etiquettes” by declining to (immediately) sign the score-sheet after her game.

Further, Humpy violated Rules 2.2.6 (withdrawing without valid reason and without informing the tournament arbiter), 2.2.9 (unjustifiable accusations against an official) and 2.2.10 (that deals with occurrences which cause the game of chess, FIDE or its federations to appear in an unjustifiable unfavourable light and in this way damage its reputation).

“Before the first round Mr. Srivatsan made formal announcements on the number of rounds, time control and the grace time. It is an irrefutable fact that he mentioned only “grace time” but in her letter addressed to the Appeals Committee, Humpy mentioned it as ‘additional time’ which was a clear case of not hearing an announcement properly or not understanding,” points out the letter.

The letter highlights an apparent discrepancy in Humpy’s account saying, “It will be very interesting to note that Humpy, in her letter to the Appeals Committee, mentions another player Tania Sachdev who lost in the first round itself on time. So it is very clear that she cannot say that she was not aware of the rule.”

Making a strong case for action against Humpy, the letter points to the violation of Rule 2.2.11 (any conduct likely to injure or discredit the reputation of FIDE, the events, organisers, etc). “She had deliberately and wilfully damaged the reputation of the organisers and also that of the AICF by giving an interview to the chessbase.com with reckless allegations, which cannot be taken lightly.”