Top players from 23 countries for 12th Mumbai Mayors Chess

6th June 2019: Venezuelan GM Iturrizaga Bonelli-Eduardo will lead a field of 225 players, representing 23 countries, in the International open category of the 12th Mumbai Mayors International Chess Tournament, sponsored by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), to be held from 9th-16th June 2019 at Mount Litera International School, BKC.

Organized by Venus Chess Academy under the aegis of the Mumbai Suburban District Chess Association, Maharashtra Chess Association & All India Chess Federation, the tournament, with a record prize pool of Rs 36 lakhs, has attracted more than 1000 plus entries till date. Mount Litera International High School will be the venue and Knowledge Sponsor for the 3rd year in a row. 23 federations viz. Russia, Spain, Brazil, Georgia, Belgium, Belarus, America, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Armenia, Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Chile, Iran, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Tajikistan, Venezuela, Slovakia, Vietnam and India will be participating in this flagship event. 

GM Iturrizaga Bonelli- Eduardo of Venezuela is the top-seeded player with an ELO rating of 2637, followed by defending champion GM Amonatov Farrukh of Tajikistan with an ELO rating of 2624, while GM Pantsulaia Levan of Georgia (ELO 2614) is the third seed for the tournament. GM Deepen Chakravarthy of Tamil Nadu, seeded 11th in the tournament is the highest ranked Indian Player, while WIM Divya Deshmukh will lead the Indian female contingent. 

The players in the open international section would be vying for the first prize of Rs 3 Lakhs from a total prize fund of 14 lakhs while the runners up will get 2.3 and 1.25 Lakhs respectively. Mayor's Chess is a 10-round tournament with a classical time-control of 60 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move 1. In addition, the players also stand a chance to earn the GM/IM norm. 

The ‘B’ category event with a prize fund of Rs.11 Lakhs would also be held simultaneously from 9-13 June, 2019 while the ‘C’ category event with an identical prize fund of Rs.11 lakhs would be conducted from 13-16 June 2019.  

Rating Officer from All India Chess Federation and International Arbiter Mr Srivatsan will be governing this event as Chief Arbiter while International Arbiter Mr Vitthal Madhav will be deputy Chief Arbiter for this prestigious event.