CODE OF ETHICS OF THE ALL INDIA CHESS FEDERATION

1. Introduction
1.1 The game and concept of chess is based on the assumption that everyone
involved/concerned observe existing rules and regulations and attaches the
greatest importance to fair play and good sportsmanship.
1.2 It is impossible to define exactly and in all circumstances the standard of conduct
expected from all parties involved in AICF tournaments and events, or to list all
sets which would amount to a breach of the Code of Ethics and lead to
disciplinary sanctions. In most cases common sense will tell the participants the
standards of behaviour that are required. If any participant in an AICF event has
any doubt as to the conduct which is expected of him or her, the AICF officials
present should be contacted or the local organizer who has been put in charge of
the event.
1.3 Disputes arising during a game or tournament shall be resolved in accordance
with the rules of play in existence at the time and with the tournament
regulations.
1.4 This Code of Ethics is applicable to:

 AICF office bearers,

 Affiliated member associations and their members,
 Organizers,
 Sponsors,
 all players/participants in AICF registered tournaments.

This Code of Ethics shall govern what action may be taken against any person
(meaning either an individual or organization) who deliberately or through gross
negligence violate the rules and regulations of the game or neglect to observe
the precepts of fair play.
1.5 The Ethics Commission shall also hear and decide any dispute between:

a. the AICF and its one or more member state associations,

b. Two or more member stated associations of AICF, and
c. Members of state association and the state association.

1
2. Breach of Code of Ethics

The Code of Ethics shall be breached by a person or organization who directly

or indirectly:
2.1 offers, or attempts to offer or accepts any consideration or bribe with a view of
influencing the result in a game of chess or election into AICF office, or
2.2 indulges in any of the following:
2.2.1 Fraudulence in the administration of any AICF office or state association
office that affects other associations;
2.2.2 Misbehaviour of a personal nature which is generally unacceptable by
normal social standards;
2.2.3 Organizers, tournament directors, arbiters or other officials who fail to
perform their functions in an impartial and responsible manner;
2.2.4 Failure to comply with normally accepted standards of courtesy and
chess etiquette;
2.2.5 Cheating or attempts at cheating during games and tournaments. Violent,
threatening or other unseemly behaviour during or in connection with a
chess event;
2.2.6 Players withdrawing from a tournament without valid reason or without
informing the tournament arbiter;
2.2.7 Gross or repeated violations of Constitution of AICF or other approved
tournament regulations;
2.2.8 In any top-level tournament, players, delegations or teams must comply
with a high standard dress code. Delegations includes both a player`s
seconds and any other individual who the player allows to conduct
business on behalf of the players. Players are responsible for the actions
of acknowledged members of their delegations;
2.2.9 Players or members of their delegations must not make unjustified
accusations toward other players, officials or sponsors. All protests must
be referred directly to the arbiter or the Technical Director of the
tournament;
2.2.10 In addition, disciplinary action in accordance with this Code of Ethics
will be taken in cases of occurrences which cause the game of chess,
AICF or its member associations to appear in an unjustifiable
unfavourable light and in this way damage its reputation;

2
 2.2.11 Any conduct likely to injure or discredit the reputation of AICF, its
members, its events, organizers, participants, sponsors, officials or that
will enhance the goodwill which attaches to the same, or
2.3 offers, or attempts to offer any favourable treatment to any person or
organisation in order to unjustly enrich oneself, or
2.4 allots a tournament, event, camp etc. to a family run organisation, or
2.5 Indulges in an act which is in violation of the Constitution of AICF; or
2.6 Indulges in any other act which the Ethics Commission feels is against the
interest of the sport of chess in India.
2.7 Misconduct or malpractice in the elections of AICF or any of its member state
chess associations.
2.8 Breach or violation of National Sports Development Code of India, 2011, as
updated from time to time, and other guidelines of Government of India or the
Sports Authority of India.

3. Sanctions
3.1 Breaches of the AICF Code of Ethics shall be sanctioned whether acts of
commission or omission, whether deliberate or negligent, whether the breach
constitutes an act or attempted act, and whether the parties acted as principle,
participant, accomplice or instigator, aiding or abetting.
3.2 Breaches of the AICF Code of Ethics may be punishable by one or more of the
following sanctions:

 warning;
 reprimand;
 return of awards;
 fine, up to Rs. 10,00,000/-;
 revocations of titles and sports results;
 social work;
 ban up to 15 years on taking part in a chess competition, or in any chess-
related activity, as a player, arbiter, organiser, or representative of a chess
federation;
 temporarily exclusion from membership or office;
 setting aside of orders passed by a chess association;
 declaring elections as invalid or illegal;

3
  any other sanction that the Ethics Commission may deem fit in the facts
and circumstances of the case in the interest of the sport of chess.

3.3 If a sanction is imposed, on the making of an application to the effect, the Ethics
Commission may examine whether there are grounds to totally or partially
suspend the enforcement of the sanction. The Ethics Commission shall keep in
mind the previous record and conduct of the person/organisation sanctioned. By
suspending enforcement of the sanction, the Ethics and Disciplinary
Commission may subject the person sanctioned to a probationary period of
anything from six months up to two years. If the person benefiting from a
suspended sanction commits another breach during the probationary period, the
suspension shall automatically be revoked and the original sanction completely
applied and added to the sanction imposed for the new breach.
3.4 The sanction may be imposed by taking into account all relevant factors in the
case.
3.5 The Ethics and Disciplinary Commission shall decide the scope and duration of
any sanction.
3.6 Sanctions may be limited to a geographical area or to one or more specific
categories of competitions or events (starting date).
3.7 Unless otherwise specified, the sanction may be increased as deemed
appropriate if a breach has been repeated.
3.8 Where more than one breach has been committed, the sanction shall be based on
the most serious breach, and increased as appropriate depending on the specific
circumstances. In these cases, when determining the amount of a fine, the Ethics
and Disciplinary Commission is not obliged to adhere to the general upper limit
of the fine.
3.9 At the request of the AICF, the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission may
(immediately) take provisional measures (e.g. provisional sanctions) if a breach
of the Code of Ethics appears to have been committed and a decision on the
main issue may not be taken early enough. The Ethics and Disciplinary
Commission may also issue provisional measures for preventing interference
with the establishment of the truth. Provisional measures may be valid for a
maximum of 90 days. In exceptional circumstances, the provisional measures
may be extended by the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission for an additional
period not to exceed 60 days. The duration of provisional sanctions shall be
taken into account in the final decision.
3.10 The Ethics Commission or the Appellate Authority may pass such interim orders
as it may deem fit while hearing a Complaint or Appeal, as the case may be.

4
4. Miscellaneous
4.1 Breach of the regulations of this Code by any person shall be reported to and
decided by the Ethics Commission as appointed by the General Body of AICF.
4.2 The proceedings of the Ethics Commission and the Appellate Authority shall be
recorded in writing. Grounds must be given for any decision taken and these
must also be in writing.
4.3 Appeals against the final decisions taken by the Ethics Commission must be
made to the Appellate Authority as appointed by the General Body of AICF. No
appeal shall lie against an interim order of the Ethics Commission.
4.4 Any decisions of the Appellate Authority shall be final and non-appealable.
Recourse to ordinary courts of law against the orders of the Appellate Authority
is prohibited.
4.5 The Ethics Commission as well as the Appellate Authority shall endeavour to
decide the cases received by them within 6 months.
4.7 The Ethics Commissions shall not have the power to institute suo moto
complaints.
4.8 In order to clarify any vagueness or ambiguity in the Code of Ethics, the Ethics
Commission may pass clarificatory guidelines for interpretation of the clauses
of the Code of Ethics and the associated guidelines. The said clarification shall
come into existence once it has been approved by the General Body of the AICF.
4.9 The Ethics Commission/Appellate Authority may direct the AICF to carry out
investigation into the Complaints/Appeals received by it. The AICF shall submit
a report after conducting due investigation and enquiry. No such investigation
shall be permissible when there is a Complaint/Appeal filed by or against the
AICF.
4.10 The AICF may forward all the complaints received by it qua the violation of the
Constitution of AICF also to the Ethics Commission.
4.11 The Appellate Authority shall enjoy all the powers available to the Ethics
Commission.
4.12 During the course of hearing a Complaint/Appeal, the Ethics
Commission/Appellate Authority may consult any representative from the AICF
for clarification. No such consultation shall be permissible when there is a
Complaint/Appeal filed by or against the AICF.

5
4.13 In case of any ambiguity with regard to the jurisdiction of the Ethics
Commission, the Ethics Commission shall refer the same to the Central Council
or General Body of AICF as the case may be.

5. Guidelines for filing complaint to the Ethics Commission and Appeal to the
Appellate Authority of AICF may be found at Annexure-1.

6
 Annexure - 1

GUIDELINES FOR FILING COMPLAINT TO ETHICS COMMISSION AND

APPEAL TO THE APPELLATE AUTHORITY OF AICF

1. The AICF Secretariat shall maintain a register of all the Appeals and Complaints
received. Further, the AICF Secretariat shall allot the number to each
Complaint/Appeal before forwarding the same to the members of the Ethics
Commission or the Appellate Authority, as the case may be.

2. All the complaints to be addressed to Ethics Commission shall be addressed to

aicfethics@[Link] with a copy to indianchessfed@[Link]. A hard copy of
the entire paper book of the Complaint shall be sent to the headquarter of the AICF
at New Delhi.

3. The Complaint shall be filed in Form A annexed to these Guidelines.

4. The Complaint shall be filed in English, with line spacing 1.5, font Times New
Roman, A4 size page, back to back print and should be paginated (except index
and cover page).

5. The soft copy of the Complaint shall be filed as a single ‘.pdf’ file which should
include the Complaint as well as the supporting documents.

6. All the relevant annexures ought to be specified in the List of Dates and Events so
far as possible. The remainder annexures if, any, may be mentioned in the
Submissions. The Annexures filed by the Complainant shall be numbered as
ANNEXURE C-1, C-2 and so on. The word “ANNEXURE C-1” shall be in bold
and underlined.

7. The Respondent shall file a Reply to the Complaint in Form B annexed to these
Guidelines. In case of multiple Respondents, the Respondents may file separate
Replies or a Single Reply if they choose to do so. In the event of a Single Reply
on behalf of multiple Respondents, the same shall be accompanied with an
authorisation letter on behalf of the person filing the said single Reply. The
Annexures filed by the Respondent shall be numbered as ANNEXURE R-1, R-2
and so on. The word “ANNEXURE R-1” shall be in bold and underlined.

8. All annexures which are in regional language have to be accompanied with a

English translation of the original document. All the annexures should be legible
and clean. Illegible documents shall be filed in original along with their typed
copies.

7
9. The Complaint/Reply should be duly signed by the Complainant/Respondent on
the last page of the Complaint/Reply along with a seal of the association (if
applicable).

10. If the Complainant/Respondent is a chess association or any other association,

society, company etc., the Complaint/Reply should be accompanied with a Letter
of Authorisation on the letter head which shall be duly signed and the seal of the
said Complainant/Respondent should also be affixed.

11. At the discretion of the Ethics Commission, the hearings may be conducted by
way of video conferencing.

12. All notifications and communications that the Ethics Commission intends for the
parties shall be sent through the AICF Secretariat.

13. An oral hearing may be provided in a case only if the Ethics Commission deems
it appropriate and necessary.

14. In case of an oral hearing, the parties may argue the case themselves if they choose
to do so. The parties may be represented or assisted by persons of their choice. In
case a party is represented by another person, the concerned party shall submit to
the Ethics Commission a letter of authorisation for the representative.

15. The parties shall strictly adhere to the timelines stipulated in the orders passed by
the Ethics Commission. The Ethics Commission may extend the timelines at its
sole discretion.

16. The Ethics Commission may exceptionally authorize the hearing of witnesses and
experts, even via tele- or videoconference.

17. All questions shall be decided by the majority of the members present.

18. The quorum for the judgment shall be of at least three members.

19. The judgment shall state in a written form the reasons on which it is based. It shall
contain the names of the members of the EC who have taken part in the decision.

20. The AICF Secretariat shall ensure that the Complaints sent to the Ethics
Commission are in proper format. If the format of a Complaint or a Reply is not
as per the present guidelines, the AICF Secretariat shall return the same to the
concerned party and along with the list of corrections to be made to the document.

21. If the judgment does not represent in whole or in part the unanimous opinion of
the members of the EC who heard the matter, any dissenting member shall be
entitled to deliver a separate opinion.

8
22. A written copy of the judgment of the EC shall be delivered to each party (by
letter, e-mail or otherwise) no later than twenty days after the judgement.

23. These guidelines may be amended by the AICF from time to time.

24. Unless anything to the contrary is specified, the aforesaid guidelines shall be
applicable to the Appeals filed before the Appellate Authority in so far as
applicable. The Appeal to the Appellate Authority shall be filed in Form C and
the Reply thereto shall be in Form D. The Annexures filed by the Appellant shall
be numbered as ANNEXURE A-1, A-2 and so on. The word “ANNEXURE A-
1” shall be in bold and underlined.

25. Appeals to the Appellate Authority shall be sent to aicfappellate@[Link] with

a copy to indianchessfed@[Link].

26. The Ethics Commission and the Appellate Authority may lay down additional
guidelines or procedures for its smooth, effective and efficient functioning from
time to time and put up the same before the General Body of AICF for approval.

9
 FORM A

ETHICS COMMISSION
ALL INDIA CHESS FEDERATION
NEW DELHI

COMPLAINT NO. ____of 202_

COMPLAINANT(S): 1. Name of Complainant(s)

Address:
Mobile No.:
Email:

RESPONDENT(S): 1. Name of the Respondent(s)

Address:
Mobile No.:
Email:

SUBJECT: Subject matter of the Complaint.

10
 INDEX

Sr. No. Particulars [Link].

1. List of dates. 1-____

2. Written Submissions

3. Prayer and Interim Relief

4. Annexure C-1:
Description of annexure.

5. Annexure C-2:
Description of annexure.

6. And so on…

7. Letter of Authorisation (in case of chess association or any

other association, society, company etc.)

Filed by:

Signature of the person filing the Complaint

Name of the person filing the Complaint
Capacity in which the person is filing the Compliant
On behalf of Name of the Complainant
Address of the person filing the Complaint
Email id of the person filing the Complaint
Mobile number of the person filing the Complaint

Place: Specify the place from which the Complaint is filed

Date: Specify the date of filing of the Complaint

11
 LIST OF DATES

Date Event
Please specify all the relevant dates and events pertaining to the
complaint in a neutral form.

12
 WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

1. Please provide all the submissions pertaining to the complainant in para wise
format. The submission should be concise and specific.

2. ….

3. ….

PRAYER

In the light of the aforesaid facts and circumstances it is prayed as follows:

a. Please specify the relief sought by the Complainant;

b. ….
c. ….
d. Grant any other relief as the Commission deems fit in the fact and circumstances
of the present case.

INTERIM RELIEF (if any)

In the light of the aforesaid facts and circumstances it is prayed as follows:

a. Please specify the interim relief sought (if any) by the Complainant;
b. ….
c. ….
d. Grant any other relief as the Commission deems fit in the fact and circumstances
of the present case.

[Name, sign and seal (if any) of the Complainant(s)]

COMPLAINANT(S)
PLACE:
DATE:

13
 FORM B

ETHICS COMMISSION
ALL INDIA CHESS FEDERATION
NEW DELHI

REPLY
in
COMPLAINT NO. ____of 202_

IN THE MATTER OF:

Name of Complainant(s)
…COMPLAINANT(S)

v.

Name of Respondent(s)
…RESPONDENT(S)

REPLY ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT NO. ____

14
 INDEX

Sr. No. Particulars [Link].

1. Reply on behalf of Respondent No. ___

2. Annexure R-1:
Description of annexure.

3. Annexure R-2:
Description of annexure.

4. And so on…

5. Letter of Authorisation (in case of chess association or any

other association, society, company etc.)

Filed by:

Signature of the person filing the Respondent

Name of the person filing the Respondent
Capacity in which the person is filing the Respondent
On behalf of Name of the Respondent
Address of the person filing the Respondent
Email id of the person filing the Respondent
Mobile number of the person filing the Respondent

Place:
Date:

15
 REPLY ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT NO. __

1. Please provide all the submissions pertaining to the complainant in para wise
format. The submission should be concise and specific.

2. ….

3. ….

4. In the light of the aforesaid fact and circumstances it is humbly prayed that the
present Complaint be dismissed and the Commission may pass such other or
further orders as it may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of this case.

[Name, sign and seal (if any) of the Respondent(s)]

RESPONDENT(S)

PLACE:
DATE:

16
 FORM C

APPELLATE AUTHORITY
ALL INDIA CHESS FEDERATION
NEW DELHI

APPEAL NO. ____of 202_

(Against order dated ___ passed by the Ethics Commission in Complaint No. ___
of 202_)

APPELANT(S): 1. Name of Complainant(s)

Address:
Mobile No.:
Email:

RESPONDENT(S): 1. Name of the Respondent(s)

Address:
Mobile No.:
Email:

APPEAL Order dated ___ passed by the Ethics Commission in

AGAINST: Complaint No. ___ of 202_)

17
 INDEX

Sr. No. Particulars [Link].

1. List of dates. 1-____

2. Written Submissions

3. Prayer and Interim Relief (if any)

4. Annexure A-1:
Description of annexure.

5. Annexure A-2:
Description of annexure.

6. And so on…

7. Letter of Authorisation (in case of chess association or any

other association, society, company etc.)

Filed by:

Signature of the person filing the Appellant

Name of the person filing the Appellant
Capacity in which the person is filing the Appellant
On behalf of Name of the Appellant
Address of the person filing the Appellant
Email id of the person filing the Appellant
Mobile number of the person filing the Appellant

Place:
Date:

18
 LIST OF DATES

Date Event
Please specify all the relevant dates and events pertaining to the
Appeal till the date of the impugned order in a neutral form.

19
 WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

1. Please provide all the submissions pertaining to the Appeal in para wise format.
The submission should be concise and specific.

2. ….

3. ….

PRAYER

In the light of the aforesaid facts and circumstances it is prayed as follows:

a. Please specify the relief sought by the Appeal;

b. ….
c. ….
d. Grant any other relief as the Appellate Authority deems fit in the fact and
circumstances of the present case.

INTERIM RELIEF (if any)

In the light of the aforesaid facts and circumstances it is prayed as follows:

a. Please specify the interim relief sought (if any) by the Appellant;
b. ….
c. ….
d. Grant any other relief as the Appellate Authority deems fit in the fact and
circumstances of the present case.

[Name, sign and seal (if any) of the Complainant(s)]

APPELLANT(S)
PLACE:
DATE:

20
 FORM D

APPELLATE AUTHORITY
ALL INDIA CHESS FEDERATION
NEW DELHI

REPLY
in
APPEAL NO. ____of 202_

IN THE MATTER OF:

Name of Appellant(s)
…APPELLANT(S)

v.

Name of Respondent(s)
…RESPONDENT(S)

REPLY ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT NO. ____

21
 INDEX

Sr. No. Particulars [Link].

1. Reply to the Appeal on behalf of Respondent No. ___.

2. Annexure R-1:
Description of annexure.

3. Annexure R-2:
Description of annexure.

4. And so on…

5. Letter of Authorisation (in case of chess association or any

other association, society, company etc.)

Filed by:

Signature of the person filing the Respondent

Name of the person filing the Respondent
Capacity in which the person is filing the Respondent
On behalf of Name of the Respondent
Address of the person filing the Respondent
Email id of the person filing the Respondent
Mobile number of the person filing the Respondent

Place:
Date:

22
 REPLY TO THE APPEAL ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT NO. __

1. Please provide all the submissions pertaining to the Appeal in para wise format.
The submission should be concise and specific.

2. ….

3. ….

4. In the light of the aforesaid fact and circumstances it is humbly prayed that the
present Appeal may be dismissed and the Appellate Authority may pass such other
or further orders as it may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of this case.

[Name, sign and seal (if any) of the Respondent(s)]

RESPONDENT(S)

PLACE:
DATE:

23