Forty Grand Masters for Mayor`s Chess

Mumbai: A record number of 39 Grand Masters from 15 countries, including nine from India, are to take part in next month`s third Mumbai Mayor`s Cup Chess Tournament offering prize money of Rs 13 lakh with Rs 3 lakh earmarked for the winner.

GM Parimarjan Negi, with a rating of 2626, heads the list of Indian GMs who will be seen in the tournament commencing at the Goregaon Sports Club from June 2, according to a media release from the Bombay Chess Association.Russian GM Alexei Dreev, rated 2655, is the top seed in the Venus Chess Academy-organised 11-round Swiss League tournament which has attracted 500 players. The participating Indian GMs are: Parimarjan Negi, Abhijit Kunte, Tejas Bakre, Neelotpal Das, Sriram Jha, S Kidambi, R R Laxman, Deepan Chakravorty and Arun Prased.The other GMs taking part are: Varza Zoltan, Czebe Attila, Ivan Farrgo, Hera Imre (all Hungary), Rasil Ibrahimov (Azerbaijan), Rustam Kusnutdinov, Petr Konstenko, Ismagambetov Anuar, Ibrayev Nurlan, Temirbayev Serikbai (all Kazakhstan), Thomas Luther (Germany), Anton Kovalev, Pablo Lafuente (both Argentina), Enamul Hussain (Bangladesh), Sergey Kasparov, Tatiana Kasparova (WIM), Alexi Alexandrov (both Belarus), Kravtsir Martin, Rulan Pogarelov (both Ukraine), Alexi Dreev, Vorobiov Evegeny, Ovetchkin Roman, Vokarev Sergey, Pavel Maletin, Dimitry Bocharev, Dimitry Kokarev (all Russia), Alex Fier (Brazil), Hrair Simonian, Gevorg Harutyunjan (both Armenia) and Saidalli Yaldashev (Uzbekistan). PTI