Indian chess players' valuables stolen after multiple room break-ins in Spain
New Delhi, Dec 26: Some of the frontline Indian chess players, including GM Sankalp Gupta, went through a torrid time while participating in the recent Sunway International chess tournament at Sitges, Spain, as they lost several valuables after break-ins at their apartments.
The train of unsavoury incidents started on December 19 with a break-in at the Apollo apartment, a property provided by the organisers for participants, where International Master Dushyant Sharma and Sankalp were sharing the accommodation.
This break-in happened when the duo was out of their room and Dushyant lost his passport, laptop and cash from the room.
Though Sankalp was robbed of his laptop and air-pods, his passport was safe.
But that was not the end of miseries for them as the translator interpreted wrongly that the players left the doors and windows open, hinting that the burglary was because of their negligence.
"We rectified this mistake in the report (to the organisers) later", said Dushyant.
Dushyant, in fact, had to leave the tournament to get the document to come back home.
Interestingly, Sankalp was able to track his air-pods online but the player complained that he did not get any support to retrieve them from Barcelona.
Three days later, Sunway San Jorge Apartment was targeted by the burglars after the last round.
Women's IM Mounika Akshaya and WGM Srija Seshadri were away for an evening walk and IM CRG Krishna was sleeping inside the room while burglars entered the apartment.
Their valuables like laptop and mobile phones were taken away, but fortunately, Krishna was not harmed.
On December 23, Sunway Arizona Apartments had a break-in when WIM Arpita Mukherjee and WFM Vishwa Shah were sleeping in the bedroom.
Between 2:30 am and 6 am, their laptops, mobile phones and cash were stolen from the bedside tables. Luckily, the players were left unharmed by the perpetrators.
"The organisers claim this happened for the first time in 10 years but while reading reviews on Google, I found out that there have been multiple such break-ins recently", wrote Sankalp to the organisers.
My depressing robbery story at Sunway Sitges Chess Festival 2023, Spain. I request the authorities to kindly take action in this since I am not the only player who suffered from this event. pic.twitter.com/FzHzRR289p
— Mounika Akshaya (@MounikaAkshaya) December 23, 2023
Robbery at Sunway Arizona apartments on 23.12.23 midnight. Laptop,mobile,bag & money stolen. Similar incidents with Indian chess players in other apartments. Requesting @SunwayChessOpen @aicfchess @ianuragthakur @IndiainSpain for prompt action. Massive security breach!
— Arpita Mukherjee (@arpita_chess) December 23, 2023
Burglary in #SPAIN #Sunway APOLO APARTMENT on 19 Dec in my room. My Laptop, Passport, cash etc & my roommate’s laptop,airpods stolen. Later on,similar thefts happened with other Indian chess players too. Requesting @SunwayChessOpen @IndiainSpain @ianuragthakur @DrSJaishankar Help pic.twitter.com/daKdjusy45
— Dushyant Sharma (@chess_dushyant) December 24, 2023
Official statement regarding isolated incidents during the @chessable Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival 2023. pic.twitter.com/qdYNpr8pU0
— Sunway Chess Festival (@SunwayChessOpen) December 24, 2023
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Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
