The five-day tournament has received 125 entries from Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and another 150 entries are expected in a couple of days, V Vijayaraghavan, Secretary, Coimbatore District Chess Association, told reporters here today.
More than 10 International Masters and a couple of Grand Masters are expected to participate in the tournament, being organised by Kovai Chess Mates (KCM), formed by parents of chess players in the city, Vijayaraghavan said.
The participation in the tournament will help unrated players to obtain FIDE ratings and rated players to improve their ratings, which would lead to a higher seeding and more favourable pairings, Mohan Kumar, Secretary, KCM said.
Stating that KCM was started with intention of promoting chess in and around the city and encourage more players to take up Chess, he said that there would be 77 prizes, with a total prize money of about Rs 1.20 lakh.
