Bhubaneswar’s SOA To Host Odisha’s Biggest Prize-Money Chess Meet; Check Details

Bhubaneswar: Some of the world’s top players will assemble in the Odisha capital next month to vie for glory in the inaugural SOA International Grandmasters Chess Festival.

Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Deemed to be University will be hosting the high-profile tournament at its Campus 2 here from January 28 to February 4, 2024.

The tournament, which offers a total prize money of Rs 35 lakh, will be organised by the All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA) with the support of SOA, International Chess Federation (ICF), All India Chess Federation (AICF), Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Odisha government.

Around 1,500 players from around 20 countries are expected to take part in the 8-day tournament, SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Players from Denmark, the Netherlands, Iran, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, Egypt, the Philippines, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Slovakia, Zimbabwe have confirmed their participation thus far besides Indian competitors.

AOCA vice-president Basant Kumar Das and secretary Debabrata Bhatta, and Dean (Students’ Welfare) of SOA Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das were present at the press conference.

Around 70 Grandmasters and International Masters, including at least 20 from India, will match their wits against each other in a chess event which will see the highest prize money in the state, said Bhatta.

Former Junior World champion GM Abhijeet Gupta (2596 ELO Rating) is the highest-ranked player till date, said.

The participants will be divided into three categories — Category A, Category B and Category C. Category A will have a total prize money of Rs 20 lakh, Category B and Category C Rs 7.5 lakh each Bhatta informed.

The tournament will be conducted as per FIDE laws, with 10 rounds in Category A and B, and 9 rounds in Category C.