English Grandmaster Nigel Short will be the star attraction at the Sixth Kolkata Open Chess tournament to be held from March 18 to 27.
Nigel, with an Elo rating of 2674, will be the top seed among 80 players, including 30 GMs, 23 International Masters and 5 Women Grandmasters from India and other parts of the world.
Going by the average rating points (2407) of the participants, the 10-day tournament at the Alekhine Chess Club will be the strongest GM tournament ever in Asia and will be played in 10-round Swiss league with INR 14 lakh as the prize money.
Bengal GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly (2623) will be the highest-rated Indian player in the championship, which will also see GMs Nelotpal Das, B Adhiban, GN Gopal, youngster IM Diptayan Ghosh in action.
Among women, WGMs Mary Ann Gomes, Padmini Rout, Nisha Mohota and Swati Ghate will be the top contenders.
