Nagpur to host Vidit vs Svidler, Raunak vs Short + 3 tournaments at the Maharashtra Chess Festival 2023

2nd Maharashtra Chess festival

After the success of the 1st Maharashtra Chess Festival in 2022 in Pune, the 2nd edition is back! This time it is happening in the city of Nagpur.

The venue of the Festival will be Hotel Niavedhyam North Star, Koradi Raod, Nagpur (Please note that the venue has been changed recently).

Exhibition matches

There will be two exhibition matches - GM Vidit Gujrathi vs GM Peter Svidler and GM Raunak Sadhwani vs GM Nigel Short. There will be - 4 classical, 4 rapid and 8 blitz games. Scoring system will be Classical - 3 points for the winner, Rapid - 2 points for the winner and Blitz - 1 point for the winner. Draw will get half of the winner's points. If overall points are equal then Armageddon will break the tie.

This will be a mouthwatering encounter. A few days ago when the match was scheduled, it felt like Vidit was a clear favourite. His Elo was 2731 and Svidler's rating was 2683. At the same time Vidit has been quite active and playing several tournaments, while Svidler has been relatively inactive. However, things have changed in the last month or so. Vidit's performance at the Sharjah Masters 2023 wasn't great. He lost 19 Elo points, while Svidler won the very strong Sigeman & Co. 2023 tournament ahead of Gukesh and Arjun. Things look much more even now. Apart from the fact that he is in good form right now, Svidler is an absolute class act. He has been the Russian champion for a record 8 times. He has played in 3 World Championship tournaments in 2002, 2005 and 2007 and he has also played in three Candidates tournaments in 2013, 2014 and 2016. He has also won the Chess World Cup back in 2011. He has reached a peak rating of 2769 in 2013. It goes without saying that if Svidler brings forth his A game, it would be extremely difficult for Vidit to handle him. On the other hand, Vidit would be motivated that the tournament is happening in his home state - Maharashtra and he will be the crowd favourite. Last time that happened, Vidit performed exceedingly well at the ChessBase India Originals Death Match against Anish Giri.

It's the clash of generations here. 17-year-old Raunak Sadhwani takes on 57-year-old Nigel Short. It's also the first time in several decades that Nigel's rating has fallen down below 2600. But don't be fooled by numbers. Being a former World Championship challenger, three-time Commonwealth Champion and having a career high Elo of 2712, all that Nigel needs is some motivation. And facing one of the biggest talents in the world of chess is good enough motivation! Raunak is surely a slight favourite in the match given that he works very hard on chess and is a very strong rapid and blitz player. However, Nigel cannot be underestimated. If he manages to survive the first few games and get back into the groove, it would be an enjoyable match to follow. It would also provide Raunak with great experience that would definitely come in handy when he will play matches later on in his career.

We asked GM Abhijit Kunte, the chairman and chief coach of the selection committe in AICF and MCA Vice President about how the idea of the match came about. He said, "While doing the Maharashtra Chess Festival we were thinking about how we could give top Indian and Maharashtra players maximum exposure. That is how the idea of the match came about. In future you can expect us to hold more matches, or event a Round Robin event." Related to how the opponents of Vidit and Raunak were chosen, Abhijit replied, "Nigel wanted to come to India and we felt that he would be a wonderful opponent for Raunak. As for Peter Svilder, he was Vidit's choice. Vidit was given the option to choose his opponent. I am glad that both Svidler and Short have agreed. It is going to be an extremely fun event." When speaking about the people who have made this possible, Kunte says, "A lot of people have put in their efforts to make this possible. A special mention has to be made about the MCA President Parinay Fuke. He agreed to the idea of the matches and has helped tremendously with the funds. A special shoutout to the Nitin Kareer, former MCA President and Government of Maharashtra. I would also like to thank all the Vice presidents of Maharashtra Chess Association for their unconditional support."

Half of the prize fund for the Vidit vs Svidler match is being sponsored by PNG Jewellers. We asked him the reason for supporting chess and Vidit and this is what Saurabh had to say, "PNG Jewellers has always been supporting the game of chess in India. PNG Jewellers has also been organizing a chess tournament in Sangli for over 50 years now. Over and above, chess has been my favorite game since the very beginning, having represented our great state of Maharashtra in chess tournaments in the past. We believe that it is time for India to produce its next champion after Viswanathan Anand! Vidit is an exceptionally talented chess player and we are supporting him for his match with Svidler in the coming days which will be held in Nagpur where PNG Jewellers will also be launching its second store in Itvari! PNG already has a store in Bajaj Nagar area in Nagpur. We hope that Vidit will make our nation proud and become the champion we believe he already is!"

2nd Maharashtra International Open GM tournament 2023

Players list:

All players

Schedule:

The 2nd Maharashtra GM tournament will take place from 1st to 9th June 2023. Double rounds are on 2nd and 4th June.

Eligibility, Time Control and System of Play

The 2nd Maharashtra GM Open tournament is valid for players who have a FIDE rating of 2000 and above as per the June 2023 FIDE rating list.

Entry fee

There is no entry fee for GMs, IMs, WGMs, WIMs, and foreign players rated above 2000. For everyone else, check out the fee structure below: 

Prizes

The total prize fund is ₹25,00,0000.

Maharashtra Chess Festival Below 2000 FIDE rating

Complete list

Prizes:

Maharashtra Chess Festival Below 1600 FIDE rating

Complete list

Schedule:

Entry fee:

Prizes

A note on prize money for all 3 events

Contact details

1. Niranjan Godbole – Tournament Director – +91-9673003780

2. KK Barat – Jt. Organising Secretary - +91-9422174490

3. Bhushan Shriwas – Jt. Organising Secretary – +91-9890860484

4. Rohit Tembe – Registrations – +91-8007944674

5. Amit Kench – Registrations – +91-9923429561

Download circulars

Visit our calendar here to download the tournament circular for each event: GM Tournament, Below 2000 and Below 1600.

Links

Maharashtra Chess Association: Official site and fb page

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