Why you should play Kathmandu Open

by Shahid Ahmed - 26/05/2018

Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal. It is situated at the lap of the Himalayas. The natural beauty is excruciatingly enchanting. The first edition of Kathmandu Open 2018 witnessed the participation of 12 different countries including 9 GMs, 9 IMs and a few other FM, WFM and CMs. The tournament had the total prize money of roughly INR 6.2 lacs or US$10000, with the first prize being NRS 2 lacs or INR 1.24 lacs. Chief sponsor of the event, KNP Japan has promised to hold this tournament for the next two years. We bring you a pictorial and video report of why Kathmandu Open is a must play tournament.

Kathmandu is definitely a must-see place

Let's have a pictorial behind-the-scenes review of Kathmandu Open 2018

The first timers: GM Deep Sengupta, GM Sandipan Chanda, IM Suvrajit Saha and his family. This is the view you get when you step out of the Tribhuvan International Airport.

Inauguration Ceremony at Park Village Resort

View from the terrace adjacent to the tournament hall

Closer look at the signs, pointing towards various direction of the world

Live performance of songs in local dialect

Live performance by a local singer on New Year's Eve is something every player was able to enjoy even if the language was different

Blueprint of the hotel, just in case you need to know where you are or where you would like to go

Entrance to the restaurant for all players and officials

There is another option to sit and have breakfast, lunch or dinner by the poolside

A place called 'Walking Meditation' inside Park Village Resort premises

Full of lush greenery and mountain range is visible from the hotel corridor

View from the terrace of the playing hall is quite pleasant

Entrance to the playing hall

Outside of the playing hall

Adequate refreshment for the players

Swimming Pool by the aptly named Waterfront Garden Restaurant

If you don't enjoy swimming, you can play tennis

You may also want to meditate at the meditation circle

One cannot afford to get distracted by the monkey

The place also has a sundial

A faux phonebooth...

Very important advice from a tree

Buddha statue is very frequent in Park Village Resort

Prayer Wheel which is considered to bring good luck if you spin it

There is enough place for family and friends to sit hand break a few words

Spot the mistake

Breakfast by the poolside with Nongsha Angom

Lyonnaise Potatoes is one of the interesting cuisine which was in the breakfast

Sometimes you can find some interesting names too like this one

Everyday there was a different dessert in the lunch and dinner menu

Eclairs is universally appealing as evident from the pic

If you are wondering if we ever stepped out of Park Village Resort, then I must tell you that we did.

Not the AC/DC we were looking for

An uphill climb of a klick had this picturesque view

Let's have some more info about the place where we stayed and the tournament took place. You will also get to know who founded it and in which situation:

KGH Hotel branches all across Nepal

Founder of the hotel Karna Sakya, his footprint and backstory

As per Nepali calendar, the current year is 2075 which is 67 years ahead of the widely accepted Gregorian calendar. So adjust the timeline accordingly in the previous photograph.

Mohan Bahadur was the only Visually Challenged player in the entire tournament

He himself has created the chessboard in the photo above along with the pieces. He has never seen a chessboard in his life. Watch his interview and you will know that creating chessboard is not the only thing he does. He also recycles papers and makes them into a paper cup. He also colors them up too.

Mohan talks about his passion - chess

Special thanks to the volunteers - Reshma Maharjan, Karina Kakshapati, Soniya Shrestha and Neetu Shrestha who not only took care of the players and the entire event, but also took extra care of Mohan Bahadur to make sure he has a smooth experience of the tournament