KARACHI, Aug 16: National Master Anwar Qureshi of Sindh, who finished runner-up in last month’s National Chess Championship held here has been banned for ten years and fined Rs100,000 by the vigilance committee for alleged match-fixing charges.

“In pursuance and continuation of the reports of the vigilance committee and inquiry committee, duly constituted by the organising committee of the 28th National Chess Championship as per the past practice, you have been convicted of various acts of corruption, breach of discipline and is found willfully involved in the breach of code of conduct,” said a statement from the chairman of the committee here on Thursday.

Reacting to the charges, Anwar said on phone from Hyderabad: “I am surprised with the news of the ban because I have received nothing from the Chess Federation of Pakistan.”

The Peshawar-based CFP secretary Mohammad Saleem Khan did not attend repeated calls made to him to obtain his version.

“How can the chairman organising committee ban me without taking the CFP into fold and without issuing me any show-cause notice,” Anwar asked.—APP