HYDERABAD: The first-ever International Grand Master Chess Open Tournament in Telangana state began on August 20 at Hotel Marriott in Hyderabad.
To mark the inauguration, a symbolic match was played between Grand Master Savchenko Boris and Bharath Singh Chauhan, Hon. Secretary, All India Chess Federation.
Of the 160 participants, 45 are from Telangana and 22 International players from 10 countries are competing in the tournament. Speaking on the occasion, Bharat Singh Chauhan said that India has become the power house of Grand Masters.
“Currently, we have 64 Grand Masters in India. In next three years, India will have over 100 Grand Masters. India is a Grand Masters country,” he declared.
India is making rapid strides in Chess. We will rule world in Chess. There should be a tournament like this every year in Hyderabad.
According to Srikanth, the tournament comes up with a total prize money of `12 lakh. On the whole, 39 prizes are there for the taking.
The first prize is Rs 2.5 lakh, the Tournament will conclude on August 27 at 2 pm with Prize Distribution. The tournament, which will be played in league system, with all players getting to play ten rounds.
The objective is to redefine the landscape of competitive chess. Chess is a great sport and in the last decade or so, it’s popularity in India has risen so much so that there are many chess players in competitive chess.
Speaking further he added that we currently have nearly 64 Grandmasters and around 107 International Masters. The world chess considers India a force to reckon with.
More than 160 players from across India and other nations, Grand Masters(GMs) and International Masters(IM) are participate in the tournament. This is an high level tournament. If any player performs against IMs/GMs, then that player will get NORM from this tournament.
The NORM is each player should have 3 NORMS to become an International Master (IM). Or Grand Master (GM). This tournament is eligible to certify that honour to the player.
