The tournament is the highest profile event of chess being held in Nepal. Nepal is the third country to host a tournament of this level in South Asia after India and Bangladesh. [break]
The tournament will be helpful in increasing the ratings of Nepali players and getting the IM norms, Nepal Chess Association President Rajeshhari Joshi said at a press conference.
"The tournament will feature six Grand Masters (GMs) and International Masters (IMs) each while 10 FIDE Masters and 22 rated players are all set to participate in the tournament," said Ram Kumar Thapa, president of the club and coordinator of the main organizing committee.
GMs and IMs are the highest and second highest profile chess players. Nepal does not have a single GM or IM. FIDE Master Manish Hamal is the only title holder player of Nepal.
Altogether 19 highest rated among Nepali players will compete from Nepal. Players from Uzbekistan, Slovenia, France, England, India, Bangladesh and hosts Nepal are participating in the six-day-long tournament to be held until ninth round in the Swiss League format.
The tournament carries a cash prize of Rs 265,000. The top three players will bag a cash prize of Rs 75,000, Rs 52,500 and Rs 37,500 respectively while the best among Nepali players will receive Rs 7,500, and second and third will receive Rs 3,750 each. The expected cost of the tournament is Rs 1.5 million.
The tournament is also authorized by FIDE, the apex chess body of the world.
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