International Grandmasters Chess Festival: Around 700 participants from 25 countries will vie for top honours in three different categories at the Odisha Open and 15th International Grandmasters Chess Festival which will kick-off at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here from December 15.
The 8-day long tournament, with a total prize money of Rs. 40 lakh, is being organised by the All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA) in association with SOA, Rotary International and Empreo Group, Dr. Abinash Samal, Organising Chairman of the tournament, told a news conference on Thursday.
Mr. Debabrata Bhatta, Secretary of AOCA who the Tournament Director is also said that around 120 players with Elo rating of 1900 or more will compete in Category-A while those competitors with Elo rating of less than 1900 will be placed in Category-B. Those having below 1600 Elo rating will compete in Category-C The total prize money in Category-A will be Rs. 25 lakh with a top prize of Rs. 5.5 lakh while the prize money for Category-B and Category-C will be Rs. 7.5 lakh each, he said.
Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, Dean (Students’ Welfare), SOA and Co-Chairman of the Organising Committee, Prof. Prasanta Kumar Patra, Dean, Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (SRIC), SOA, Mr. Shankar Prasad Mishra, Treasurer, AOCA, Mr. Tapas Kumar Mohanty, International Arbiter, Mr. Suryakanta Bisoi, Member, Executive Committee, AOCA, among others, were present at the press conference.
Mr. Bhatta said entries had been received from 25 countries including Belarus, Bosnia, Columbia, Egypt, France, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Philippines, Russia, Slovakia, USA, Vietnam and hosts India. Seventy of the participants were title holders, he said.
