Players describe ‘survival challenge’ at Guntur event amid growing scrutiny of tournament standards

As India readies to host the prestigious FIDE World Cup in Goa later this month, troubling accounts have emerged from the recently concluded 62nd National Chess Championship in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Players described the event as chaotic, with monkeys invading the venue, rainwater leaking onto chessboards, power cuts disrupting play, and minimal air-conditioning inside a makeshift tent.

Grandmaster Sethuraman SP, a two-time national champion, summed up the experience in a viral post on X: “The 62nd Indian National Championship felt more like a survival challenge than a chess tournament. Monkeys on the shamiana, rainwater dripping onto boards, power cuts during time trouble—it had everyth

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