Tata Steel junior chess championship to get underway on Friday 

The Tata Steel junior chess championship is all set to commence on Friday, September 8, at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. This international chess tournament will attract over 100 players from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India will be plying their trade in the tournament. The Tata Steel junior chess championship promises thrilling battles in all three formats – rapid, classical, and blitz.

Alexander Grebnev is the top seed in the classical event of the open section with an Elo rating of 2486. Participants from Russia will compete under the FIDE flag. Among the Indian contenders, L.R Srihari emerges as the top-ranked player in the Tata Steel junior chess championship. Nazarke Nurgali from Kazakhstan and India’s Saina Salonika led the rankings in the women’s category with Elo ratings of 2268 and 2140, respectively.

This prestigious chess championship will commence with the rapid event, scheduled to start at 9 AM IST on September 8th. Following that, the classical event will take place from 9th to 15th September. The double rounds will unfold on September 10th and 12th, adding an extra element of intrigue to the tournament. The blitz round will provide a thrilling conclusion on September 15th.

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Vishwanathan Anand inaugurates Tata Steel junior chess championship

Legendary chess star Vishwanathan Anand inaugurated the tournament on Thursday, September 7. The veteran declared the event open in the presence of Hati', the official mascot and Chanakya Chaudhary, who is the Vice President of Corporate Services at Tata Steel.

In the open section, chess enthusiasts, along with Srihari and Grebnev, can look forward to witnessing the skills of players like Krishna S Rohith, Arun Dakshin, Madhavan NB Hari, Mohan Kushagra, Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage, GB Harshavardhan, Sambit Panda and Anto Cristiano F Manish.

In the girls’ category, alongside Nurgali and Nurgali, the tournament will also feature Mounika Akshaya Bommini, Dehankar Mrudul, Mallick Mrittika, Zeinep Suttanbek, L Jyothsna, Walijah Ahmed, Ayulym Kaldarova and V Rindhiya.