156 school chess players to compete in Mumbai Mayor Cup for under-14s from October 24

Mumbai's school chess players are set to get a chance to show their skill. The LIC-Mumbai Mayor Cup (Mumbai Mayor Cup Chess) school chess tournament for children under 14 begins on October 24. A total of 156 school players will take part and will compete hard for titles in nine different age categories.

The tournament is being jointly organised by the Ideal Sports Academy and the Anandrao Adsul Charitable Trust. The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is the co-sponsor. The Mumbai City District Chess Association, CBEUM and RMMS have also supported the event.

The tournament will be inaugurated in the presence of several dignitaries, including former Union Minister of State for Finance Anandrao Adsul, corporator Mahadev Shivgan, corporator Rohidas Lokhande and player Govindrao Mohite.

The matches will be played in the air-conditioned hall of RMMS in Parel. The tournament will be held in nine age categories: under 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14.

FIDE-rated junior players will compete along with many emerging players. Players such as Samyak Kulkarni, Rishi Agrawal, Aryan Upraikar, Atharv Mulik, Advait Londhe, Kartikeya Sawant, Smit Loke, Sarth Loke, Artham Tote, Rihan Kulkarni, Aayansh Patil and Krishnam Goyal are ready to beat their opponents for the titles.

Fifteen prizes will be given in each age category. This will give players of different ages a chance to win rewards on the strength of their play.

Before the tournament, a free preparatory guidance camp was also held for interested children from municipal schools. The children showed keen interest. Corporator Mahadev Shivgan, chess coaches Dr Siddhesh Nar, Dr Iqbal Shaikh and Dr Jitendra Limbkar, and Shiv Chhatrapati Award winner Leeladhar Chavan were present at the programme, held at the municipal school in Chembur Naka.

The initiative gave the children a chance to understand chess moves and prepare for the contest before the tournament.