The Ekagra Chess Academy is organizing one of the largest “Open Rapid Chess” tournaments with a prize pool of Rs 22,22,222. The two-day event will be held on December 20 and 21 at the HITEX Exhibition Center in Hyderabad. Speaking at  Somajiguda Press Club on Wednesday, the tournament Vice Chairman and senior journalist Sharif Mohammad said that this is the first time such a big open rapid tournament is being hosted in Telangana. 

Entry fee for general players would be Rs 5,000 while it is free for Grand Masters (GM), International Masters (IM), Women Grand Masters (WGM), and Women International Masters (WIM). Last date for registration with Rs 5,000 is December 15 and with a late fee of Rs 1000 (total Rs 6000) is December 18th. 

Notable participants include Tvil Kovu Serij (Netherlands), Savchenko Boris (Russia), Petrov Marian (Bulgaria) and Roy Chowdhury Saptarshi (India). Tournament Director Girish Reddy shared that since the establishment of Ekagra Chess Academy in 2020 thousands had been trained and in the 2022 FIDE-rated tournament more than 1,300 players participated.