KOLKATA: India is all set to host its first ever world event in chess as the tournament is set to take place at one of the cultural hubs in the city, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, from 9 to 14 November.
It has also confirmed Tata Steel as its principal sponsor and will be known as ‘Tata Steel Chess India’.
The City of Joy will witness 11 of the world’s top-ranked Grandmasters, including Vishwanathan Anand, playing a tournament in India after two decades, battle it out in Rapid and Blitz formats. The World No. 10 will be the top draw in the Tata Steel Chess India rapid and blitz tournament.
Top-10 players
The $40,000 prize-money tournament will feature four top-10 players – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (World No. 3, Azerbaijan), GM Levon Aronian (No. 6, Armenia) and Wesley So (No. 9, USA) – apart from Hikaru Nakamura (No. 14, USA) and Sergey Karjakin (No. 15, Russia). The other Indians taking part are P Harikrishna (No. 19), Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (No 37), Surya Sekhar Ganguly (No 161), Nihal Sarin and R Praggnanandhaa.
All Rapid games will be held on the first three days in the round-robin format while a double round-robin Blitz tournament will take place on the final two days.
Approved by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), the winner and runner-up will receive $10,000 and $7,500 respectively.
Tata Steel has had a long-standing association with chess as it also sponsors the Netherlands’ edition of the event each year. As a result, Jeroen van den Berg, director of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament there, will also serve in the same capacity in Kolkata.
The tournament has been conceptualised and will be conducted by sports marketing company Gameplan Sports Pvt Ltd.
As far as broadcast of the event is concerned, Chess.com, the game’s leading portal, will live stream the tournament.
Sunil Bhaskaran, vice president (Corporate Services) of Tata Steel said: “Tata Steel has a long-standing association with chess, having been the main sponsor of the famous chess tournament at Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands, which is one of the most prestigious events in the international chess calendar. Tata Steel intends to make Tata Steel Chess India a world-class and most sought-after event in professional chess in the years to come. Kolkata has been the nerve centre of chess and it is in the fitness of things that the city hosts the biggest chess tournament that the country has seen.”
“It is always good for chess when there are new initiatives. For me personally, it is a challenge to make the new initiative in India successful, which can hopefully lead to a new and long tradition. It is a very nice and strong field. Most of the participants have already showed their Rapid and Blitz skills in other events. I hope that many people from Kolkata will come and see the tournament.” van der Berg said.
Jeet Banerjee, managing director of Gameplan Sports Pvt Ltd said: “Tata Steel Chess India will signal a proud moment for the sport in India as it brings in some of the most respected and decorated international chess players to India. It is also a rare honour to organise the first tournament in more than 15 years where Vishwanathan Anand will be participating. At Gameplan, we are honoured to be handling this tournament and look forward to welcoming the players to Kolkata, a city where chess is a passion in local clubs, family drawing rooms and even under flyovers and on roadsides.”
