Kolkata: The All India Fide Rating Chess Tournament was inaugurated in Kolkata on Tuesday amidst huge excitement from promising chess players of the city. The tournament in its second year is jointly hosted by Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy and All Sport Foundation at the Indian Council For Cultural Relations (ICCR) in Kolkata from December 13-18.
According to Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua, “The objective of hosting such tournaments is to spread chess to more and more enthusiasts in West Bengal. The purpose of organizing this tournament is to provide a platform for the local upcoming & promising players to show their skills against the reputed players of the country. It will be a golden opportunity for the unrated players to gain ELO Rating and for rated players to increase their Ratings. An ELO Rating is a mathematical calculation which indicates the strength of a player.”
Also present for the inauguration was Grandmaster Surya Sekhar Ganguly, who is preparing himself to take part in the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship in Qatar from December 26-30.
According to Surya, “The tournament will act as a huge encouragement for kids. To have such tournaments like this will only encourage the talented chess players in the city.”
As many as 180 players from 7 states (West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Telengana) are taking part in this tournament.
The tournament will be played under Swiss League System of 9 rounds. 90 minutes for each player with 30 seconds increment from move one.