1,200 players from across the country register for Pune chess festival at Kondhwa

The Late Bharatbai Halkude Memorial Unstoppable LBHM Chess Festival is being organised by Aryans Chess Academy. The tournament will be played at Mansukhbhai Kothari National School in Kondhwa, Pune, from November 10 to 18, and has begun today. A total of 1,200 players from across the country have registered.

Nagnath Halkude, organising secretary of the tournament, said the aim is to give well-known and emerging chess players from across the country a chance to play on one platform. It also seeks to further strengthen Pune's standing in chess. He said players have responded warmly and expressed confidence that there would be strong contests.

The tournament is being held with recognition from the AICF, FIDE, MCA and PDCC. Prizes worth a total of Rs 16,16,160 will be awarded. Matches will be played over nine rounds under the Swiss league system.

The events are Open, Rapid, an under-1700 rating category and Blitz. Open category matches will run from November 10 to 14. Blitz will be played on November 14 and Rapid on November 15, while the under-1700 rating event will be held from November 16 to 18.

Among the top players is International Master Mohammad Imran (2475). Also in the field are Suyog Wagh (2275), Kashish Jain (2253), Sanket Chakraborty (2220), Nikhil Dixit (2142), Sakshi Chitlange (2129), Bhavan Kolla (2215), Prathamesh Sherla (2085) and Anay Pimparkar (1695). The figures in brackets are the players' ratings.

The arbiters have also been named. IA Nitin Shenvi will serve as chief arbiter and IA Amrish Tallu as deputy chief arbiter. Over the nine days of the festival, players from across the country will compete in Pune in the different categories.