Chess: Six India women international masters take on six foreign players
The tournament is an initiative by the All India Chess Federation to provide opportunities to the country's young women international masters.
Published : Jan 27, 2019 20:08 IST
Six woman international masters (WIMs) from India will take on six foreign players, including two woman Grand Masters, in the Velammal-AICF International Women Grand Master round-robin chess tournament, beginning here Monday.
The tournament is a novel initiative by the All India Chess Federation to provide opportunities to the country’s young women international masters to obtain WGM norms in home conditions, a press release said.
The Indian participants at the tournament would be Aakanksha Hagawane (FIDE rating 2259), Saloni Sapale (2198), P. Michelle Catherina (2175), V. Varshini (2171), Divya Deshmukh (2168) and Chandreyee Hajra (1925).
The foreign players invited are Munguntuul Batkhuyag (Mongolia, 2428), Osmak Iulija (Ukraine, 2394), Nakhbayeva Guliskhan (Kazakhstan, 2336), WGM Uuriintuya Uurtsaikh (Mongolia, 2314), WGM Babiy Olga (Ukraine, 2275) and Franco Valencia Angela (Colombia, 2107).
The total prize money on offer would be Rs 7.5 lakh with the winner set to receive Rs 1.5 lakh.
The tournament concludes on February 4.