Organisers checkmate participants of int'l chess event with poor arrangements

An International chess tournament underway in the city has left participants and their parents fuming over the poor quality of arrangements Players at The 7th Mumbai Mayorrsquos Cup mdash International Open Chess Tournament 2014 were shocked when they werenrsquot provided basic amenities at the venueParents complained that the halls were not airconditioned as promised nor was there proper seating arrangements for themThe tournament which commenced on June 2 is being held at Thakur College Kandivli E Most participants are children It was initially supposed to be hosted at the Sardar Patel Indoor Stadium at the National Sports Club of India NSCI which changed to Chetana College in Bandra Authorities finally decided upon the Kandivli venueDantelle Joubert above from South Africa has been to India four times for chess tournaments and said this was her worst experience Many foreign participants complained about the lack of western toilets PicsKaushik ThanekarldquoSince the venue was changed many of us from other states booked hotels in Bandra We found out very late about the change We now travel many hours to and fro every day to get to the venuerdquo said V Rangarajan father of a Chennai participantBad choice of venueThe games are being held on the 1st 6th and 7th floors only participants are allowed to use the lone functional lift in the college building Parents were left gasping for breath as they took the stairsldquoI have attended several chess championships across the country including small towns where participants and their parents are treated with respectrdquo said a parent With the tournament spread across three floors many participants missed their matches because they were trying to figure out the venue for their next matchOn Monday the college staff switched off the electricity supply and the main stairway too was locked ldquoMy son got trapped on the first floor while I was waiting for him on the 6th floor for his next match We told the authorities about this and by the time the problem was solved my son was late for his match and lostrdquo stated another parentNo AC poor toiletsPlayers from 19 countries are competing for the top prize Rs 3 lakh They were told there was only a toilet available to them on the 7th floorMany female participants from Russia and South Africa complained about the lack of westernstyle loos Moreover authorities had promised spacious airconditioned rooms and had even charged more than a regular tournamentldquoThe washrooms are kept in terrible condition the games are being held in rooms with no airconditioning and many students are being stuffed into the same room at the same time making it difficult to concentraterdquo said Dantelle Joubert 14 a participant from South Africa This is her fourth chess tournament in India and her worst experience by farldquoOther tournaments across the country charge around Rs 15002000 Here we have paid Rs 35005000 and this is how we get treated I have decided to never come to this tournament againrdquo said the mother of another participant from HyderabadMost have recently returned from a similar tournament in Bhubaneshwar and voiced their anger at the shoddy management of the event Praveena Kumari mother of a participant from Andhra Pradesh stated that nowhere had she seen such a poor display from organisersAnother mother was furious as participants were not even provided with water bottles and food a norm elsewhere Nearly 800 young chess champions are in the city for the event that will end on June 9 The total prize money is Rs 24 lakh