Chess championship postponed
Change of date forced due to security concerns in Quetta.
KARACHI:
The Pakistan Chess Federation (PCF) has postponed the national championship by four months due to the law and order situation in Quetta.
The championship will now be held in September with 800 players participating, according to the PCF President Altaf Ahmed Chaudhry.
“Since the tournament involves a huge number of people, security is an important issue,” Chaudhry told The Express Tribune. “We were advised to hold the championship in Karachi but that’s equally dangerous. Therefore, we’ve postponed it until September.”
Meanwhile, defending champion Mehmood Lodhi said he strongly opposed the idea of holding the championship in Karachi or Quetta from the start. Lodhi said he was not willing to risk his security for the prize-money of Rs100,000 for the title.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 11th, 2011.
The Pakistan Chess Federation (PCF) has postponed the national championship by four months due to the law and order situation in Quetta.
The championship will now be held in September with 800 players participating, according to the PCF President Altaf Ahmed Chaudhry.
“Since the tournament involves a huge number of people, security is an important issue,” Chaudhry told The Express Tribune. “We were advised to hold the championship in Karachi but that’s equally dangerous. Therefore, we’ve postponed it until September.”
Meanwhile, defending champion Mehmood Lodhi said he strongly opposed the idea of holding the championship in Karachi or Quetta from the start. Lodhi said he was not willing to risk his security for the prize-money of Rs100,000 for the title.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 11th, 2011.