Kozhikode to host World junior chess

The AICF headquarters gave signals last week that the event might go out of Kerala as there was a low-key response to it with only fourmonths left for the championship. But once the Government showed interest in the event, the clouds of uncertainty were dispelled.

The AICF might also have been relieved to get a favourable response from the AICF President’s office, which is believed to have come out with a sponsorship amount of Rs 10 lakh for the conduct of the championship. The total expenses for the championship would be Rs 1.2 crore and the main sponsor’s share is said to be Rs 50 to 60 lakhs. It seems there is also a possibility of partitioning the championships (boys and girls) for the benefit of the sponsors. In the event of it, Triveni Group in Delhi, headed by AICF President Dhruv Sawhney, is likely to become the main sponsor for the girls event while the boys championships would be named after a potential sponsor who could chip in with the lion’s share.

AICF secretary Ummerkoya, who is also vice-president of Fide, the world body, said the event was allotted to India because the Fide was convinced of the country’s organisationalefficiency and there was not point in letting it go.

KOZHIKODE: “The State Government will give all possible support to enable the organisers to conduct the prestigious championship in a smooth manner,” said the State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports A C Shanmughadas here at a meeting to constitute the organising committee today.

“The speciality of this championship is that the boys’ champion will become the Grandmaster, while the champion in the girls’ section will turn Woman Grandmaster,” said Ummerkoya who added that over 250 players from around 120 countries will take part in the championship.

The total prize money for the championship will be a whopping Rs 15 lakh (Rs 10 lakh for the boys and five lakh for girls).

“The Centre and State Government have assured to release funds for the championship. We have requested them to offer at least Rs 35 lakh as we do not expect much support from the local private companies,” said the All Kerala Chess Federation president P A Hamza.

India standa good chance of performing well in the championship as the young players of the country have, of late, been consistently giving spectacular performances, said Ummer Koya.

The championship was held here five years ago.