Play the Strongest Rapid & Blitz Tournament in Indian History

Participate and play the best Indian players ever!

Dear Chess Players,

It was a sultry May afternoon at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay campus, in 1983. The National Team Chess Championship was in progress and one of the boards had many spectators crammed around it, trying to take a glimpse of the unfolding drama as one of the players was in time pressure. The conditions were sweaty yet a 13-year-old boy sat there wrapped in blankets and woolen clothes, with his mother sitting beside him. He was down with fever but had insisted on playing for his team - the Madras Colts.

Facing him was IM Manual Aaron, a 9-time National champion and an Indian legend who had beaten the likes of Euwe and Portisch. The boy had managed to hoodwink him once before but this time he was determined. However, the position did not favour Aaron. He tried to think of a way to survive, consuming a lot of time in the process. He made his move.

Thud! Thud! It was his move again.

A visibly shocked Aaron offered his hand in resignation. His opponent had taken a mere thirty minutes to play all his moves - the Lightning Kid.

Indian Chess in the 1980s was still an old man’s game. People weren’t yet used to losing to 14-year old children who barely thought over a move. This is in contrast to what we see these days when we see 10-year old kids hunting down grandmasters. Probably this is because the times are changing and computers have been getting better and better.

But one of the key reasons why this is true is the rising number of tournaments. A young chess player has numerous options to play quality chess tournaments anywhere in India. The All India Chess Federation (AICF), led by D.V. Sundar and Bharat Singh Chauhan, is doing a tremendous job of making sure that a favourable environment exists. This allows India to host so many FIDE rated tournaments round the year (at last count India hosts 200+ such events every year!).

In our humble attempt to host world-class tournaments with facilities most players only see in top level events, we are proud to launch the ChessMine Rapid and Blitz Open 2017.

ChessMine's vision is to make chess a financially powerful sport. We are all about honouring great chess and great chess players. We do this by relying on a unique revenue model that we have developed after years of studying the sport. The people involved in this organisation are all chess players first, their ratings spanning between 1650 and 2550, with a keen interest in finance and entrepreneurship.

 ChessMine is all about honouring great chess and great chessplayers.

A good ChessMine tournament means that the players get the best playing conditions, good money in cash prizes, and strong players, all in one place.

For years chess has remained in shadows of other, bigger sports, and while most people believe that it can never be a spectator sport, we firmly believe that it is an amazing game that can be played by anyone, anywhere and hence has the potential to become the most powerful sport on this planet.

How can you help Chess become Financially Powerful?

Play. Play chess. Play chess in our tournaments. Like some of these very strong players have decided to:

Details:

Tie-Break

While there is a raging ongoing debate about the tie-break system that is most fair to all the players, we firmly believe that 'Most number of wins' is not the best way to determine the fair winner of the higher prize. Therefore, we have gone back to the Buccholz tiebreak system, until a better system of breaking ties can be found. However, to determine the winner of the first prize, we shall have a Play-off.

First Prize Play-Offs

1. In the event of a tie for first place, a tie breaking playoff will be held to determine the winner of the first prize. A maximum of 4 players can be qualified for this play-off. The qualifiers will be determined by the best performance ratings of the tied players.
2. The tiebreak will start at the end of the final round on Sunday August 6 2017. The organizers reserve the right to modify the time controls for the playoffs if time is insufficient.
3. The playoffs will take place in the form of knockout matches. At least one arbiter will supervise each game, hence the normal Laws of Chess will apply.
4. If 3 players are tied, lots will be drawn to see who does not play the first round. If 4 players are tied lots will be drawn to determine the opponents. The players draw for colour before the first game.
5. Each match will take place as follows: 2 games of rapid play - 10 minutes + 5 seconds per move added (Fischer). If the score is tied after 2 games then 2 games of blitz – 3 minutes + 2 seconds per move will be played with opposite colours from the first match. If the score is still tied a sudden death game will be played with obligation to win with white with the time control of 4 minutes + 2 seconds per move for white and 3 minutes + 2 seconds per move for black. Lots will be drawn just before this final game and the winner will choose his/her colour.
6. The winner takes the Rs. 100,000 first prize. The loser(s) will have their prize money divided amongst the players with whom they are tied, including those who did not participate in the playoff.

Entry Fees:

Pay entry fee

Blitz Cash Prizes

Tie-Break

Again, as we mentioned before, we would prefer to stick to 'Buccholz System' of tiebreaks. But there will be a play-off for the first place.

Play-Offs:

1. In the event of a tie for first place, a tie breaking playoff will be held to determine the winner of the first prize. A maximum of 4 players can be qualified for this play-off. The qualifiers will be determined by the best performance ratings of the tied players.
2. The tiebreak will start at the end of the final round on Monday August 7 2017. The organizers reserve the right to modify the time controls for the playoffs if time is insufficient.
3. The playoffs will take place in the form of knockout matches. At least one arbiter will supervise each game, hence the normal Laws of Chess will apply.
4. If 3 players are tied, lots will be drawn to see who does not play the first round. If 4 players are tied lots will be drawn to determine the opponents. The players draw for colour before the first game.
5. Each match will take place as follows: 2 games of blitz – 3 minutes + 2 seconds per move will be played with opposite colours from the first match. If the score is still tied a sudden death game will be played with obligation to win with white with the time control of 4 minutes + 2 seconds per move for white and 3 minutes + 2 seconds per move for black. Lots will be drawn just before this final game and the winner will choose his/her colour.
6. The winner takes the Rs. 100,000 first prize. The loser(s) will have their prize money divided amongst the players with whom they are tied, including those who did not participate in the playoff.

Entry Fees

Pay entry fee

Again, keeping with our policy of making the event for players of all the levels, there is a flat entry fees. But if you want to play both the Rapid Tournament and the Blitz Tournament,...

Combined Entry Fees for both Rapid and Blitz

Pay entry fee

Entry Fees:

Entry fees are segregated on the basis of which tournament you would like to play. You can play both Rapid + Blitz, only rapid or only blitz. Based on your preference you can click the button and make the payment.

For both Rapid and Blitz:

Rs.1900 for Age Under-10:

Rs. 2,000 for Age 11-16:

Rs. 2250 for Age 17 and above:

For only Rapid:

Rs.1800 for Rated above 2000:

Rs.2,000 for Rated 1999 and below (Including Unrated):

Rs.1200 for Age 10 years and below:

Rs.1400 for Age 11-16 years:

Rs.1,600 for Age 17-21 years:

For only Blitz:

Rs.750 for all (Irrespective of Age and Rating)

Grandmaster Lecture on 'Improve your Chess Rating Rating' by Srinath Narayanan:

Srinath is an accomplished player with numerous achievements to his credit. He is the former World Under-12 Champion, former three-time Asian Junior Champion, and has had students who have made a 200+ rating jump on a regular basis, at all levels.

Srinath will additionally pair up with one of the visiting grandmasters and answer all the doubts of the players who want to improve their chess.

What better chance to learn from a world-class grandmaster? Srinath has coached a set of chosen students who are rated between 1500 and 2450 in his repertoire until today, and ALL of them have shown 100-300+ jump in their ratings.

The lecture will be held in the playing hall on Sunday after the Rapid Tournament finishes, and before the Prize Distribution Ceremony begins at 4.30 PM.

Entry fee for GM Master class:

Rs.500 for Above 21:

Rs.400 for below 21:

Payment Gateway and Service Tax charges as applicable

Bank Transfer by RTGS/NEFT

Accommodation & Transit for Outstation Players

Confirmed Entries:

Rapid Starting rank:

Starting rank

Blitz starting rank:

Starting rank

Sent us the Entry Fees? Register Yourself!

Send an email to chessmine64@gmail.com, with your name, FIDE ID, Date of Birth. That is all.

We want the players to note that even though we have not arranged accommodation for every player, we leave the choice in the players' hands.

You can stay in the hotel of your choice which you can book via various online portals like OYO, FabHotels, Treebo, etc. in the areas of Rajajinagar, Vijayanagar, Yeshwentpur, and Basaweshwarnagar. And we will provide Bus Pick-up and drop services at the time and landmark that will be announced a few days before the tournament on the ChessMine TV Facebook page, ChessBase India and also in general.

We hope you will participate and contribute your bit in making chess a financially powerful sport.

Regards,

Priyadarshan Banjan, Srinath Narayanan, Hinduja Reddy, and Likhit Chilukuri

(For ChessMine)

For Further Details Contact

For Titled Players: GM Srinath Narayanan [nsrinath2794@gmail.com (Preferably Email, as he will be competing in Europe in July)]

Others: Roopal Chilukuri: +918217276344/+919986140486

Priyadarshan Banjan [chessmine64@gmail.com; +918848057156 (Hindi, English, Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati, Tulu)]

Email: chessmine64@gmail.com

For Sponsorship, Business, and Commercial Opportunities: banjanpriyadarshan@gmail.com

Download the Prospectus from here.

All Photos by Amruta Mokal