National Senior Chess Championship begins in Sikkim

The National Senior Chess Championship 2019 began at Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMIT), Majhitar in East Sikkim on Tuesday. A total of 192 top-rated players from different states, union territories, and PSUs have participated in the championship. The players include 19 Grand Masters and 25 International Grand Masters. The championship carries total prize money of Rs 20 lakh.

The ten-day-long championship has been organized by the Sikkim Chess Association (SCA) on behalf of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and supported by the sports & youth affairs department, the government of India. The championship was inaugurated by the secretary to sports & youth affairs, Kuber Bhandari.

This is the first occasion for Sikkim to host so many Grand Masters, International Masters, FIDE Masters, Women International Masters and top-rated chess players of the country.

GM Aravindh Chithambaram Vr from Tamil Nadu and GM Sriram Jha from LIC SPB also spoke on the occasion.