Chennai, Jan 14 (IANS): Former Vice-President of the international chess body FIDE and former Secretary of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) P.T. Ummer Koya 69, passed away on Tuesday in Kozhikode in Kerala.

Condoling Koya's death FIDE in a tweet said: "It is with the deepest sadness that we learned about the passing of PT Ummer Koya, who was Vice-President of the International Chess Federation for a whole decade, between 1996 and 2006."

"Besides his role in our organisation, Ummer Koya (Calicut, 1951) was a cornerstone for the development of chess in his country. He was elected General Secretary of the All India Chess Federation in 1989, a post he held until 2005.

"We are very thankful for his dedication and his contributions to promoting chess from both institutions, and from FIDE we would like to express our sincerest condolences to his relatives, his loved ones, and all the members of the Indian chess community," it added.

Several Indian chess players mourned Koya's death, sharing messages on their social media accounts.