NEW DELHI: The All India Chess Federation (AICF) has officially announced new dates for the senior National Chess Championship, ensuring the event is held in 2026 rather than being pushed into 2027. The tournament will now take place from November 29 to December 9, 2026, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.The decision follows a social media post by Arjuna Awardee and five-time Commonwealth champion Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta, who raised serious concerns after the federation initially deferred the 2026 edition to March 2027.As reported by TimesofIndia.com on Monday, the top management at AICF acted quickly as soon as they realised the concerns were genuine. They held immediate meetings with key stakeholders and, understandably, came up with two timeframes for the latter half of 2026.It is reliably learnt that, with those two timeframes, final calls were made with the host state association to see whether the change of plans could be accommodated in Varanasi, as earlier decided. After a long discussion, with the venue unchanged, all parties involved decided to host the tournament in the November-December window.Earlier, the AICF had the event scheduled for March 25 to April 4, 2027. Speaking to TimesofIndia.com, a senior AICF official had previously explained that the shift was forced by a congested international and domestic calendar.It was also conveyed that the federation had prioritised hosting the age-group National Championships early in the year so that players could qualify for the World Championships without running into age-eligibility issues. Since the senior championship has no such age-related deadline, it was kept for later in the calendar.However, GM Abhijeet Gupta took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice strong opposition, pointing out that pushing the tournament to early 2027 effectively meant skipping the 2026 edition entirely.Gupta also highlighted that a March calendar directly conflicted with peak school board exams, forcing young prodigies across the country to choose between their academics and competing for the national title.“India is producing world champions, but are we making it harder for the next generation to even compete?” Gupta had posted, urging the AICF to rethink its planning in the best interest of young players.With the scheduling conflict resolved, the focus now shifts back to the board. The upcoming edition in Varanasi will follow the October 2025 championship in Guntur, where Panneerselvam Iniyan edged out Goutham Krishna on a tiebreak to claim his maiden national title.
