Chess news

Fifty-five players from 12 states will take part in the national chess championship for the visually challenged organised by the All India Chess Federation for Blind (AICFB) and the Rotary Club of Pune Heritage beginning Tuesday at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana. The championship with a total prize money of Rs 1.5 lakh will conclude on April 9.

Being held on a Swiss league basis (similar to round-robin format), the competition will have nine rounds. Every day, there will be two rounds of four hours each. The organisers said they will provide accommodation to the participating players, teachers and coaches.At the end of the championship, the top three players shall be declared in the national champion category as well as the winner in the women’s and under-19 categories. The top five players will qualify to represent India at the world team championship in Macedonia organised by the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA). The top three from the totally blind and the top three from the partially blind men’s category will represent India at the Asian para games in China in October. The top two from the women’s and the junior category will qualify for the IBCA championship in France in August, the organisers said.

The All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB) is a non-profit organisation and a public trust registered under the Indian Society Trust and the Bombay Public Trusts Act 1950, concerned with the upliftment and development of the blind and visually challenged through the game of the Chess for the past 24 years, the organisers said.