GM Pichot Moves To Spain, Slams Argentinian Chess Federation On The Way

GM Alan Pichot, Latin America's strongest player for years, has moved from Argentina and become Spain's fifth-highest-ranked player. On his way out, he criticized the Argentinian Chess Federation and its president for the lack of financial support.

The 24-year-old from Buenos Aires is ranked number 101 in the world with a rating of 2642 but has been the highest-ranked player in Argentina for years. Pichot became an FM as a 10-year-old, an IM at 15, and a GM at 18 in 2016. One career highlight was becoming U-16 World Youth Champion in 2014.

He now joins Spain, becoming their new number five, ahead of GM Eduardo Iturrizaga, who moved from Venezuela a few years ago. 

1. GM Francisco Vallejo Pons (2706)
2. GM David Anton Guijarro (2693)
3. GM Alexei Shirov (2668)
4. GM Jaime Santos Latasa (2656)
5. GM Alan Pichot (2642)

Pichot posted an explanation for his "very important career change" on his Facebook account. He says he would receive more invitations to tournaments if he had continued to represent Argentina as the highest-ranked player in Latin America, but said the transfer was necessary due to the lack of support from the federation and its president, Mario Petrucci.

He slammed Petrucci and alleged that he was asked to pay 10,000 euros to play under the Spanish flag.

About Petrucci, he says:

He is the same one who systematically makes these kinds of decisions overlooking his entire steering committee, which is not aware of anything, and runs the federation in an arrogant and dictatorial manner.

Chess.com has been in contact with Petrucci and the Argentinian Chess Federation. They released a public statement, responding to the allegations. They point out that transferring fees for players rated above 2600 are determined by FIDE's regulations and should be paid by the player's new federation, not the player. 

The regulations say that the former federation can request 30,000 euros in compensation for a player rated between 2600-2699.

Argentina is asking Spain to pay only a third of that amount. This is a negotiation between the federations, and the player has no involvement (in fact, all communications are through FIDE).

The federation also says that they have never acted against Pichot's benefit and that he has been selected over other players in the past, such as in the 2020 FIDE Online Olympiad, when he was chosen as the team's captain, and in the 2021 FIDE World Cup, when he was originally not qualified for the event.

The statement ends with:

The FADA Board of Directors deeply regrets Alan's decision to stop representing Argentina, but each individual must take responsibility for their part. In this case, it is for us to prioritize personal differences over the national flag.

Pichot has already been living in the South of Spain for a few months. In a message to Chess.com, Pichot says:

I'd like to emphasize that representing Spain poses a significant challenge to my career. I'd also like to express my gratitude to the Spanish Federation for their assistance, particularly to David Martinez, whose help was essential throughout this process.