PANAJI
The highly anticipated Late Shri Manohar Parrikar Goa International Open Grandmaster Chess Tournament 2025 began on Saturday, at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Taleigao. The grand event, running from January 11 to 19, has drawn participants from across the globe, featuring a total prize pool of Rs. 53 lakhs.
The championship was declared open by Govind Gaude, Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, who graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Marking the official inauguration, he played symbolic opening chess moves against Diptayan Ghosh, the highest-rated player in the tournament. The inaugural function witnessed the presence of prominent office bearers of the Goa Chess Association and other dignitaries.
The tournament has attracted an impressive lineup of Grandmasters, with 12 top-rated players competing, including India's Diptayan Ghosh, S.P. Sethuraman, Jagadeesh Siddharth (Singapore), Mitrabha Guha, Anurag Mhamal (Goa’s first Grandmaster), Boris Savchenko (Russia), Sayantan Das, Deepan Chakkravarthy J., Alexei Fedorov (Belarus), Marat Dzhumaev (Uzbekistan), Nguyen Duc Hoa (Vietnam), and Evgeniy Podolchenko (Belarus). Joining them are highly ranked International Masters (IMs) such as Aronyak Ghosh, Srihari L R, Neelash Saha, and Rohith Krishna S. Goa’s top players, including IMs Ameya Audi, Ethan Vaz, and Ritviz Parab, are also competing alongside Grandmaster Anurag Mhamal, raising hopes for a strong local performance.
A diverse pool of players from 23 countries are participating in the tournament, representing nations such as Belarus, Egypt, England, Indonesia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Slovakia, Turkmenistan, the USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The event commenced with matches in Categories A and B, with 187 participants in Category A, 204 in Category B, while Category C which will feature 350+ participants commences on 16th, making it a truly grand affair.
