Patna: The All Bihar Chess Association, along with Taxshila Foundation and the art, culture and youth department, will organise the 55th National Premier Chess Championship in Patna from October 28 to November 11.
The tournament will be held at Hotel Lemon Tree Premier where out of the 14 players participating at the 15-day tournament, 13 will be grandmasters.
Arvind Kumar Sinha, the secretary of All Bihar Chess Association, said: "The National Premier Chess Championship is being held in Patna after 21 years. The last championship was held in 1996." Pror to the 55th National Level Chess Championship, the Bihar Chess Association had successfully hosted National Chess Championship in 1976, 1992 and 1996.
Host Bihar will not have any player, as there are no grandmasters from the state.
Sinha said: "The idea behind organising the chess tournament is to popularise chess. We are hopeful that the government will take measures to popularise the game in the state."
The association secretary said the grandmasters will brief the other chess players about the techniques of games post-match. During the 15 days, the grandmasters will also hold special four-hour training session for chess players from Bihar. The names of players who will receive training will be finalised later.
The total prize money for the tournament is Rs 10 lakh, with the winner getting Rs 2.5 lakh. The championship will be played following FIDE or World Chess Federation laws of chess. The players will not be allowed to take their mobile phones or other electronic gadgets inside the venue.
Viplav Randhir, the vice-president of Bihar Chess Association, said: "We feel chess should be encouraged at school-levels like Tamil Nadu and Gujarat do. Chess is part of school syllabus in the twin states." Recently deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi while attending a chess match in Patna had announced to promote chess at school level on the lines of Gujarat where chess is part of the syllabus.
Students in the western state are offered chess coaching to boost thinking.
