Indian Official Answers Koneru: "She is Not Whiter Than White"

Chessbase have published the view of the secretary of the Delhi chess accosiation, A K Verma, regarding the scandal at the Commonwealth Championship. We quote below from the reply, which aims to "clear the air". 

We would remind you that, in the tournament which runs from 30 June in New Delhi, as a result of the organisers' actions, confusion arose over the time control. By coincidence, the two players to suffer were the two top Indian female players, Tania Sachdev and Humpy Koneru. The last, whilst not contesting the result of the game, tried to obtain an apology from the organisers, but did not succeed. She then withdrew from the tournament and then gave an outspoken interview to Chessbase, That in turn transferred the unhappiness to the All India Chess Federation, and the Delhi accosiation, and a complaint was filed with the FIDE Ethics Commission. Koneru now faces a range of possible sanctions, including a heavy fine and possibly a lengthy ban. 

As with Koneru's interview, the reply from the secretary of the Delhi accosiation is emotional in tone. He acknowledges that the arbiter's announcement was ambiguous and provoked some confusion. A K Verma claims though, that the chief arbiter Srivatsan is highly experienced and has a good reputation, and nobody is immune to mistakes. At the same time, the official adds some extra details, which reflect badly on Koneru. 

In particular, he states that Koneru herself "is not whiter than white": immediately after the time loss, she created a scene in the middle of the tournament hall, loudly shouting that she would withdraw from the tournament, and then refused for a long time to sign the scoresheet. 

"In her interview, Koneru wrote about 'low standards', but what standards does [her behaviour] show? She was the biggest star in the event, by some distance. Does that mean she is entitled to shout at the top of her voice that 'There is no point in playing in this tournament!', during the round, with 50 other games going on around her?" 

By way of contrast, he quotes Tania Sachdev's reaction to losing: "I do wish the Arbiter had communicated better. But of course its also my responsibility to know the rules. Learnt it the hard way!" 

In the words of the secretary of the Delhi chess accosiation, the unfortunate incident with Sachdev was widely known about in the tournament. He says he does not know how Koneru was unaware of the correct time control as late as round four, the more so because one of her previous games had ended straight after move 40: 

Photo: chessbase.com

Verma also shows that the Delhi chess association is one of the best in the country, runs a mass of tournaments with good prizes, and so Koneru's claims about poor organisation are inappropriate: "Power-cuts? Who are we kidding here? Humpy is an Indian. Power-cuts happen across the world. There was never a power cut more than 30 seconds – the switchover time in the venue when power-cut happens. This is India, power-cuts happen here. Far less than before, but still do. And why she did not mention them till this incident? "  

"After the Appeals Committee rejected her appeal, we literally pleaded with Humpy to not leave the tournament, but she had made up her mind".