The word "embarrassed" After a Chess Olympiad trophy that its team won in the most recent competition at home vanished from its office, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) lodged a police report. This forced the sports organisation to make arrangements for a duplicate of the priceless item and issue an apology. The event happened when the Indian men's team was getting closer to winning the gold medal in the ongoing 45th edition of the Olympiad in Budapest. The trophy is a rolling trophy.


The Gaprindashvili Trophy, which is awarded to the team that performs the best overall in both the open and women's categories, has vanished, according to AICF sources. India, which took home the trophy in 2022, was the final holder. The trophy has been missing for more than a month, according to AICF vice-president Anil Kumar Raizada, who told PTI that it arrived after the International Chess Federation (FIDE) requested that it be delivered to Budapest.

 

"We have been unable to locate the trophy for more than 30 days after receiving a request from FIDE for it to be brought. We have subsequently made a formal police complaint, and there will be an inquiry," he stated. A "contingency plan is in place" and "a replacement trophy" has already been ordered for the current edition, according to a senior AICF official.

"Yes, we attempted to seek for it all over after FIDE's request. But thus far, we haven't been able to find it. Under the condition of anonymity, the senior official said, "These things require utter responsibility, and it is indeed an embarrassing situation." A substitute trophy has been ordered for the time being. Although it won't be quite as distinctive as the original, it will nonetheless resemble it. We're sorry about the mess. The Olympiad's latest iteration began on September 10 and will end on September 23. There are now 197 teams competing in the event, representing 195 national federations. Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, and Harikrishna Pentala make up the Indian open team. The women on the side are Tania Sachdev, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Harika Dronavalli, and Vaishali Rameshbabu.