AICF lines up slew of international open tournaments in India next year

The All-India Chess Federation (AICF) has announced a packed calendar for the year 2022, lining up as many as 13 international open tournaments across the length and breadth of the country.

The year will begin with the MPL National Junior Championship (Under-20) at the IGI Stadium here while Ahmedabad will host the first international tournament, the Ahmedabad International Open, from February 23 to March 2.

"For the first time, we have a sponsor for all national events in the form of MPL," AICF president Dr Sanjay Kapoor said in a press release.

"Thanks to them and our other efforts, we will be offering attractive prize money in every tournament," he added.

Among the bigger events - the MPL National Women Championship (February 9-19) and the MPL National Senior Championship (February 9-21), will take place simultaneously in Bheemavaram in Andhra Pradesh and Kanpur, respectively.

The Indian teams for all major world championships in the year 2022 will be selected from these events, the release said.

"These are exciting times for Indian chess," AICF secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan said.

"Our players, right from the Under-8 category, will have multiple opportunities to showcase their talent and come into the limelight."

The other international tournaments will be held in Pune (March 4-11), Guwahati (March 13-20), Delhi (March 22-29), Kolkata (May 21-29), Odisha (May 31-June 8), Visakhapatnam (June 10-18), Bengaluru (June 20-28), Punjab (August 22-30), Bikaner (September 1-9), Indore (September 11-19), Chattisgarh (September 21-29) and Uttar Pradesh (October 1-9).

Recently AICF had an agreement with MPL, a gaming platform, for sponsorship of national championships in the country.