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It surely is a chess tournament with a difference. When the Rs. 10-lakh CAI National ?A? chess championship begins here on Wednesday, the golf-like prize-money structure is going to surprise even those with little interest in the game.
It is an 84-player field where the winner takes home Rs. two lakh and even the last-placed receives Rs. 4,000! Seldom has a sport offered so much for the one finishing last.
The Chess Association of India (CAI), a group formed by some former office-bearers of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and its affiliated state units, has an annual budget of over Rs. crore for tournaments open to players who have either ceased to have an international rating or are plain amateurs.
In contrast to the Rs. 10 lakh prize fund of CAI?s flagship event, the AICF?s National chess championship offers Rs. 5.35 lakh as prize-fund that includes a grant of Rs. 1.35 lakh from the Asian Chess Federation.
Apart from the winner?s share of Rs. two lakh, the event offers Rs. 1.25 lakh to the runner-up and Rs. 75,000 for the third-placed. The last 19 finishers will receive Rs. 4,000 each. In fact, CAI?s year-ending event, in memory of Piloo Mody, at Lucknow in December offered an unprecedented prize-money of Rs. 25 lakh!
The field for the 11-round event includes the winner and runner-up from 10 previous CAI tournaments in addition to the 64 qualifiers from the National ?B? championship held at Saharanpur last year. Former National junior champion Gurpreet Pal Singh, who recently won a title at Mangalore, will be among the favourites.
It is an 84-player field where the winner takes home Rs. two lakh and even the last-placed receives Rs. 4,000! Seldom has a sport offered so much for the one finishing last.
The Chess Association of India (CAI), a group formed by some former office-bearers of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and its affiliated state units, has an annual budget of over Rs. crore for tournaments open to players who have either ceased to have an international rating or are plain amateurs.
In contrast to the Rs. 10 lakh prize fund of CAI?s flagship event, the AICF?s National chess championship offers Rs. 5.35 lakh as prize-fund that includes a grant of Rs. 1.35 lakh from the Asian Chess Federation.
Apart from the winner?s share of Rs. two lakh, the event offers Rs. 1.25 lakh to the runner-up and Rs. 75,000 for the third-placed. The last 19 finishers will receive Rs. 4,000 each. In fact, CAI?s year-ending event, in memory of Piloo Mody, at Lucknow in December offered an unprecedented prize-money of Rs. 25 lakh!
The field for the 11-round event includes the winner and runner-up from 10 previous CAI tournaments in addition to the 64 qualifiers from the National ?B? championship held at Saharanpur last year. Former National junior champion Gurpreet Pal Singh, who recently won a title at Mangalore, will be among the favourites.