Shocking news: B-group of Kolkata 2018 is cancelled, Venue for A group changed

The Kolkata Grandmaster Open 2018 is one of the most well organized tournaments in India. It is the only GM Open that has no double rounds on any of the days of the tournament. The 3rd Edition of the Kolkata Grandmasters Open 2018 decided to also hold the inaugural edition of B-group. The event is being organized by DBCA along with All Sports Foundation. The tournaments were going to be held in two groups. A-group from 14-22 May and B-group from 18-22 May.

The shocking news is that the B-category of the event has been cancelled. The Government grant of Rs.20 lakh that was to be given to the tournament was not granted. That's the reason why the B-group is not taking place and also the venue of the A group has been changed.

Statement by the organizers:

Dear Chess lovers,

It is with a heavy heart and sense of regret that we have to bring to you certain developments on our 3rd Kolkata International Open Chess Tournament to be held at Kolkata between 14th to 22nd of May, 2018.

In a completely surprising development which caught us unawares, the Government of India has turned down our appeal to release the financial assistance. And coming as it does with just a couple of weeks before the start of the event, it has left us in an extremely difficult situation. Especially as the grant is one of the major source of sponsorship of the event.

Under this challenging circumstance, we are forced to take a couple of hard decisions. The first is that, we have been forced to limit the event to only the top group, for players above ELO 2000. Hence, the inaugural Category B event scheduled between 18th to 22nd May 2018 stands cancelled. The second is that, we are forced to switch the venue to The Newtown School, Premises 01-0279, Plot No DD 257, Action Area 1, New Town, Kolkata 700 156.

We sincerely regret the above developments, and we ask for the consideration and co-operation of all the chess community for all the inconveniences these decisions would cause.

- Dibyendu Barua (Director of DBCA) & Srenik Sett (Chairman, All Sport Foundation)

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A lot of players who had made their bookings for the B-group are in disbelief with this news. A tournament getting cancelled in Indian chess is quite rare. AICF Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan, said to ChessBase India, "Cancellation of any event is bad as it causes a lot of inconvenience to players. The organizers are the best judges in such decisions but it will be big dent to their reputation. The event is being organized by a grandmaster. He should have thought about the player's inconveniences." 

The new venue for the A-group "The Newtown School" is nearly 16 kilometres from the old venue which was ICCR-Kolkata.

Players list in the A group - all players above 2500