1st SOA Grand Masters Chess Festival In Bhubaneswar To Feature 800 Players From 14 Countries

Bhubaneswar: Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) University in Bhubaneswar is gearing up for its first Grand Masters Chess Festival, which will kickstart on January 28.

About 800 chess players, including nine Grand Masters and 24 International Masters, from 14 countries will take part in the eight-day tournament being organised by the All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA) in association with SOA.

Addressing a presser, AOCA president Gobinda Chandra Mohapatra informed that the tournament is also being supported by International Chess Federation (ICF), All India Chess Federation (AICF), Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Odisha government.

He further sad that some of the finest chess minds from Denmark, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iran, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Belarus, Egypt, Philippines, Russia, Kazhakstan, Zambia, Nepal and hosts India will be taking part in the tournament. They include
four Grand Masters, eight International Masters, one woman Grand Master and three women International Masters from foreign countries will feature in the tournament. Five Grand Masters, 16 International Masters and six women International Masters from India will enter the fray.

SOA Vice-Chancellor Pradipta Kumar Nanda said that it is for the first time that the university was organising an international sports event. “Our efforts are aimed at making SOA a chess hub,” he added.

The tournament will end on February 4 with the prize distribution ceremony.