Hungarian Chess Federation statement

regarding the Gedeon Barcza Memorial

10.04.2009

The Hungarian Chess Federation announces that it has never approved, supported, promoted any so-called Barcza Memorial tournament or provided any financial support for such a tournament to its organizer Gabor Pali. The event which was announced and handled under suspicious circumstances is entirely the private effort of Gabor Pali. The Hungarian Chess Federation does not take any responsibility for the event and the actions of the organizer. The official tournament calendar of the HCF does not contain any Barcza memorial event. The Barcza Gedeon chess club denounces Pali's action and declares it as a private effort of a cheater.

Understanding from different sources that Pali deceived all the players registered for the event and the management of the venue, the Presidential Board of the Hungarian Chess Federation ordered yesterday a full-scale investigation of the situation and decided to take all the appropriate measurements against Gabor Pali, possibly including a police information action.

The Hungarian Chess Federation regrets that such a fraud could happen and already extended its help to any player who turned to the Federation. At the same time, the HCF announces the forbidding of Gabor Pali from organizing any chess event until the investigation is finished. The investigation may lead to further actions from the HCF, including a complete prohibition of Gabor Pali from any chess activity in Hungary.