PUNE, April 26: Qualifiers Abhijit Joshi, Utpal Sasane, Chandrakant Dongre, Sandeep Gohad, Pranav Akolkar and Ravi Behre will have the best chance of making it to the elite list of Elo rating when they will play against 12 Fide rated players in the Pune District Chess Association organised Ashok Khare Memorial International rating chess tournament commencing at Kesari Hall, Tilak wada, Narayan Peth from April 29 to May 7.Chandrashekhar Gokhale, who is presently playing at Bikaner (Rajasthan) for the Commonwealth Games, will be the top seed in the tourney as he is the highest Elo rated (2361) player in the field. International Master and a veteran player-cum-coach Arun Vaidya (Elo 2309) will be the second seed followed by Abhay Karnataki (Elo 2243).Apart from the qualifiers chance to earn their maiden Elo points, the tourney will also serve as a platform for players like Prathamesh Mokal, Ketan Khaire and Sashikant Kotwal to enhance their Elo points. Prathamesh, who recently won two titles in the Under-16 and Under-19 age categories, presently has an Elo rating of 2178 and has been seeded sixth in the tourney. Ketan Khaire (2172) and Sashikant Kutwal (2123) are seeded eighth and ninth here.Joseph D'Souza, secretary of the Pune District Chess Association (PDCA), informed that Jayant Gokhale, Nivedita Sagade and Udayan Bapat, who was last year's beneficiary from this tournament, are yet to confirm their participation. Nivedita and Udayan are busy with their exams, while Jayant Gokhale is not keeping well with his health and has a 50 per cent chance of playing.The tournament will be inaugurated on April 28 at 6.00 p.m., while the first round will be played on April 29 from 9.00 a.m.. However, from the second day onwards, the rounds will commence from 12 noon.PDCA has requested all the participants to meet Joseph D'Souza for a players meeting on April 28 at 4.00 p.m.Following are the players who have confirmed their participation:Fide rated: C S Gokhale (Elo 2361), IM Arun Vaidya (2309), Abhay Karnataki (2243), Girish Wagh (2235), Joseph D'Souza (2180), Prathamesh Mokal (2178), Kiran Panditrao (2173), Ketan Khaire (2172), Sashikant Kutwal (2123).Qualifiers: Abhijit Joshi, Utpal Sasane, Chandrakant Dongre, Sandeep Gohad, Pranav Akolkar and Ravi Behre.
