Around 300 players from across country, including Grand Masters, FIDE Masters and International Masters, are expected to participate in “Chadurang”, All India Open FIDE Rating Chess tournament in Hubballi from October 27 to 31.
Rotary Club of Hubballi North, Hubballi, Rotary International District 3170, Dharwad District Chess Association and KLE Institute of Technology are jointly organising the chess tournament which is being held under the aegis of United Karnataka Chess Association and is recognised by the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and the World Chess Federation (FIDE). The theme of the tournament is Basic Education and Save Girl Child.
The five-day chess tournament will be held at KLE Institute of Technology, near Hubballi Airport, and the winners would take away cash prizes worth ₹ 3 lakh. International Masters Stany, Shivanand B.S. from Karnataka, Sameer Katmale from Maharashtra are among those who have already confirmed their participation.
In a press release, president of Dharwad District Chess Association (DDCA) V.V. Mangalvedkar and vice-president Vinay Kurtkoti, Rotary Club of Hubballi North president Sunil K. Mirajkar, club secretary Nagaraj P. Shetti have said that the tournament would be played in round robin league format and there would be nine rounds. The tournament will also mark the silver jubilee celebrations of DDCA.
Winners will be decided based on points, and the first prize will be ₹ 50,000 in cash. The second and third prize winners will get ₹ 30,000 and ₹ 20,000 in cash, respectively.
There will be other prizes such as Best North Karnataka Players, Best Veteran, Best Female Player and 10 other special prizes for participants in different age groups (Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 and Under 16), the release said.
International Arbiter Vasanth B.H. would be the chief arbiter for the tournament and Manjunath M. would be deputy chief arbiter.
Only AICF registered players are eligible to participate in the tournament and those who have not registered with AICF can contact Vinay Kurthkoti (Ph: 9448116515) Shankar Mudengudi (Ph: 8088066696) for further details and registration.