Cash-rich Delhi International Open Chess begins tomorrow

New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) Grand Master Abhijeet Gupta will spearhead the Indian challenge when the 16th edition of the Delhi International Open, India's richest chess tournament, begins here tomorrow.

Defending champion Farrukh Amonatov of Tajikistan and top seed Arkadij Naiditsch of Azerbaijan will be among the players from 29 countries participating in the event, breaking the previous record of 28 countries set during the last edition.

Over 2000 passionate chess players from across the country will compete in the tournament to be held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

Organized by Delhi Chess Association under the aegis of All India Chess Federation, the event consists of three categories: A, B & C.

The 'A' category of the tournament has managed to better itself in terms of cash prize and strength as for the first time in history, a 2700 plus elo rated player will be playing in a Classical GM Open.

Naiditsch, rated 2701, is among the strongest players in the world and has beaten the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen in tournament games twice.

The second seed will be Amonatov, rated 2636, who is the defending champion of the tournament.

Arjuna Awardee Abhijeet is rated 2610 and he is the third seed of the tournament.

The event has 27 Grand Masters and 24 International Masters and would witness some exciting contest among Indian young stars, fighting for GM and IM norms, and foreign grandmasters trying to establish their dominance.

The 'B' group that also starts tomorrow has already got 700 plus participants while the 'C' group remains the biggest draw with the participants' list touching close to 900.

With entries still pouring in at the last minute, the organizers are sure to cross the 2000 mark in total.

All the three categories are open to all participants and the registration for the 'C' group is open until January 12. There will be ten rounds in 'A' group and nine each in 'B' and 'C' group