Delhi International GM Open chess meet from Tuesday

Arkadij Naiditsch of Azerbaijan, Tajikistan's Farrukh Amonatov and Indian Abhijeet Gupta will be favourites in the 16th Delhi International Grandmaster Open chess tournament, which will begin at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here from Tuesday.

Naiditsch, the first and lone 2700+ elo rated player of the tournament, will be the top seed. He has an elo rating of 2701.

Naiditsch is among the strongest players in the world and has beaten the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen in tournament games twice.

The Rs 77,77,777 meet consists of three categories -- A, B and C.

More than 2,000 passionate chess players from across India are participating in this mega event which is being organised by Delhi Chess Association under the aegis of All India Chess Federation.

Players from 29 countries from around the world are playing in the tournament, breaking the previous record of 28 countries set by the 2017 edition of the same tournament.

The second seed will be Tajikistan's Farrukh Amonatov, rated 2636, who is the defending champion of the tournament.

The Indian challenge will be spearheaded by the Arjuna Awardee GM Abhijeet Gupta, rated 2610. Gupta is also the third seed of the tournament.

The premier event has 27 Grand Masters and 24 International Masters in the playing field and it is going to be a lip-smacking contest among Indian young stars, fighting for GM and IM norms, and foreign Grandmasters trying to establish their dominance.

The "B" group that starts along-side the main event on Tuesday has already got 700-plus participants while the 'C' group remains the biggest draw with the participants' list touching close to 900. With entries still pouring in at the last minute, the organisers are sure to cross the 2000 mark in total.

There will be 10 rounds in 'A' group and nine each in 'B' and 'C' group.

--IANS

pur/dg