World Youth Chess Championship 2019: India to hold the tournament for the first time; five Mumbai boys to participate

Six World crowns will be at stake as the World Youth Chess Championship kicks off October 1 onwards. The tournament will witness as many as 66 countries and 56 title-holders, including three Grand Masters in action over the coming fortnight. Six out of the 700+ are former world champions which indicates the intense competition the island city will see.

Meanwhile, the star attraction for the tournament will be Indian Grand Master (GM) and world's second youngest GM Praggnanandhaa R will also be participating Under-18 format. Along with him, Sargsyan Shant (Armenia) and Iniyan P (India) are also two Grand Masters in the fray.

#WorldYouthChessChampionship 2019 is being organized for the 1st time in India on Oct 1-13, 2019.
With 65+ chess playing nations, 700+ players & 6 Championship Crowns, it will be the largest chess tournament ever organised in India.#ChampionsOfLife pic.twitter.com/8xiyq7pM5o

— World Youth Chess Championship (@WorldChess2019) September 18, 2019

The tournament will revolve around competition for six titles in Under-14, Under-16, and Under-18 categories for both boys and girls. Meanwhile, it is considerable that the tournament will be offering no cash prize to its winners.

This is the first time India is hosting the World Youth Chess Championship and will be the biggest chess tournament for the country. When asked, the authorities said that 145 Indian youngsters will be participating in the prestigious chess championship consisting of 68 girls and 77 boys. Notably, five players from Mumbai will also be participating in the tournament.

All the chess championship matches will be held at the Renaissance Hotel, Powai. Alongside, the notable teams to watch out for this season would be Russia, USA, France, Italy, and Azerbaijan.

The entire tournament is being organised by the All-Marathi Chess Association under the aegis of All-India Chess Federation. India has traditionally been exceptional at the youth level, bagging various gold as well as silver medals since the inception of the World Youth Chess Championship in 2004.