Dibyendu Barua heads strong field

MUMBAI, MAY 15: Chess buffs will have a lot to feast on when the 37th National A' Championship, being conducted by Maharashtra Chess Asso...

MUMBAI, MAY 15: Chess buffs will have a lot to feast on when the 37th National A8217; Championship, being conducted by Maharashtra Chess Association, gets into action at the Andheri Sports Complex here from Wednesday.

The 21-day May 17 to June 6 Fide category seven championship has the strongest-ever field with four Grandmasters Dibyendu Barua, K Sasikiran, Pravin Thipsay and Abhijit Kunte, 11 International Masters IM and two double IM-norm holders battling it out for top honours.

The tactically strong 33-year-old Barua of Tata Steel Elo rating 2555 heads the field of 20 players but is surely to face tough challenge from rising young stars besides Thipsay and Kunte.

Among those who could challenge Barua is 19-year-old Krishnan Sasikiran of Petroleum Sports Control Board PSCB. The defending champion is in top form having clinched the GM norm recently in the Commonwealth tournament which he also won.

Also holding centrestage will be youngsters 14-year-old IM P Harikrishna former under-10 World champion and 16-year-old Sandipan Chanda of Goodricke National Chess Academy GNCA, National B8217; championship winner Surya Sekhar Ganguly GNCA and 17-year-old S Kidambi.

Harikrishna, second only after Viswanathan Anand to win the World junior title and youngest to claim IM norm, is likely to give the higher-ranked players a run for their money.

Looking for their final GM norm will be former National champion IM DV Prasad, IM GB Prakash and Chanda. Mumbai8217;s Chanda had earned the norm at the Goodricke International Open at Calcutta along with Prakash while Prasad did a few years ago.

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PSCB has fielded six players in the championship 8212; Sasikiran, Kunte, Prasad, IMs V Saravanan and Lanka Ravi and IM-elect TS Ravi.

Three players IM Atanu Lahiri, IM-elect Vishal Sareen and double IM norm holder Sriram Jha will represent the Life Insurance Corporation of India while GM Thipsay, IM Ravi Hegde and Prakash will spearhead the Bank Sports Board challenge.

Chanda, Ganguly and IM Neelotpal Das will represent the Goodricke National Chess Academy.

IM K Murugan of Neyveli Lignite Corporation will be seen in action in the National A8217; after a year8217;s gap while making their debuts will be S Kidambi TN, Harikrishna, Chanda, Lahiri and Ganguly.

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Indian Airlines8217; Rahul Shetty would hope to better his rating and clinch the IM title.

The winner will get Rs 24,200, the runner-up Rs 18,150 and third-placed players Rs. 12,100 in the Rs 84,000 prize-money championship.

Following is the list of players with their Elo ratings in parenthesis: GM Dibyendu Barua, TISCO 2555; GM K Sasikiran, PSCB 2514; GM Pravin Thipsay 2475; GM Abhijit Kunte 2487; IM GB Prakash 2435; IM DV Prasad 2421; IM V Sarvanan 2412; IM SS Ganguly 2440; IM Sandipan Chanda 2424; TS Ravi 2373; IM K Murugan, NLC 2382; S Kidambi 2433; IM P Harikrishna 2354; Vishal Sareen 2351; Rahul Shetty 2307; IM Atanu Lahiri 2426; Sriram Jha 2356; IM Ravi Hegde 2387; IM Lanka Ravi 2391; IM Neelotpal Das 2436.