World junior chess championship 2014 begins in Pune

Pune: 5th October, 2014.

At a glittering ceremony at Hotel Hyatt, attended by eminent dignitaries from the sporting, entertainment and corporate world, the World Junior Chess Championship (WJCC) 2014 was declared open in Pune. Mr S K Roy, Chairman, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) inaugurated the event in the presence of Robert Zsifkovits- Official FIDE representative, Mr Ashok Jain, President, Maharashtra Chess Association (MCA), Mr Aniruddha Deshpande, Vice President, MCA and Chairman WJCC Organising Committee, Mr Jairaj Pathak, Former President, Maharashtra Chess Association. The tournament will be played from 6th October to 19th October and will be conducted in the Swiss League format, comprising of 13 rounds with one round scheduled each day.

More than 135 players in the open category and over 75 girls from over 45 countries will battle it out for the coveted title of World Junior Champion and World Junior Girls Champion respectively and stake the sole qualifying slot in both sections for the forthcoming World Cup which is part of the World Championship Cycle.

The winners would also take home cash prize of Rs 6,00,000 (Six Lakhs). As a special recognition, the best Indian performer in both the sections will be presented with the Pune Mayor’s trophy. Apart from the titles, there will be GM, IM, WGM and WIM norms at stake for players performing creditably to meet the technical requirements.

The Chief Guest of the function S K Roy, Chairman, LIC speaking on the occasion said, “I am thankful to Maharashtra Chess Association for inviting me to inaugurate this prestigious tournament. The game of chess has its origin in India and the country has produced many Champions who have won international accolades. I can see a future World Champion in each one of you and would like to wish every participant all the very best for this tournament. Life Insurance Corporation of India is proud to be associated with this championship and we would like to extend our wishes to the organizers of this tournament in making this event, a grand success”.

Mr Ashok Jain, said, “It is indeed a moment of great pride for me and my entire team to organize this Championship for the first time in Maharashtra. MCA has been carrying out various initiatives for the development of the game of chess in the State. We have initiated the novel Maharashtra Chess League (MCL), the first Chess League in the country which has been a big hit in both its editions. MCA has also introduced the ‘Chess In Schools’ (CIS), another initiative to introduce chess at the grass roots”.

“Currently there are 186 schools with about 9500 students enrolled in the programme and the target is to reach out to 500 schools and about 50,000 students in the next couple of years. I am sure that these initiatives will go a long way in creating more and more awareness for the game of chess in the State and the country and assist in producing many more Champions. I wish you all luck and encourage you to play good quality and competitive chess,” Jain said.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Aniruddha Deshpande, said, “I welcome all the dignitaries, officials, coaches and players to the city of Pune. Apart from academics, Pune has also become an important centre for major sporting activities in India and chess has a rich tradition and culture in our city. The city has produced many a champions and I am sure that this championship will provide an ideal platform for our players to interact and get exposed to global talent. I would like to thank the Government of Maharashtra and all our sponsors for their support to this tournament. Our entire team is highly elated and charged up at organizing this grand championship and would like to assure you that we will leave no stone unturned in making this championship truly memorable and a grand success.”

The WJCC-2014 is being jointly organized by the MCA and Pune District Chess Circle (PDCC) under the auspices of AICF (All India Chess Federation) and FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs-, World Chess Federation). The organizing committee of WJCC- 2014 comprises prominent chess players and key personalities of various Chess Associations namely Ashok Jain, Ravindra Dongre, Zone President of World Chess Federation (FIDE) and, Treasurer, AICF and, Chairman of MCA, Siddharth Mayur, Vice President of the PDCC, Niranjan Godbole, Secretary of PDCC, Chess Grand Master Abhijt Kunte, Prakash Kunte and Moreshwar Bhagwat.