Bhubaneswar: The FIDE World Junior Chess Championships 2016 (for boys & girls under 20 years of age) will be held at KIIT in the Odisha capital from August 7.
The 15-day championship, sponsored by KIIT University, is being organized by All Odisha Chess Association under the aegis of All India Chess Federation (AICF) and FIDE.
This international championship is held in different countries every year while India will host the event for the fourth time. Earlier, the event was held in Chennai, Pune and Khozikode. This is the first time World Junior Chess Championship will be held in KIIT.
Players from 181 countries have been invited to participate and it is expected that players and coaches from more than 100 countries will take part. As per information, top rated players from each country will participate. The championship will be covered by different media across the world.
The event will conclude on August 22.
The rightt to host the championship was auctioned in 2015 in India. Cities like Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and Bhubaneswar had taken part in the bidding. As KIIT has got success in organizing GM Championship many times, FIDE, Indian Chess Association and Odisha Chess Association selected KIIT for this Championship in 2016. With the support of Odisha Chess Association, KIIT bought the rights for an applicable amount.
“It will be a pride for KIIT to host this prestigious international chess event”, said Dr Achyuta Samanta, founder, KIIT & KISS.