Top-ranked chess under-20 players from Russia and other countries will battle it out during the Asian junior open and girls chess championship 2023 to be organised between September 7-15 at JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur.

As many as 123 chess players from about nine countries including Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Russia, Indonesia and Nepal have confirmed their participation.

“Russia, though technically not under Asia, has got permission from FIDE (the international chess federation commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE) to participate in the competition under the FIDE banner,” said senior manager sports and secretary Tata Steel Asian Chess Open and Girls Championship 2023 Vibhuti Adesara.

The competition is organised by the All India Chess Federation under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation, FIDE and the Union sports ministry in cooperation with the All Jharkhand Chess Association. Steel major Tata Steel is hosting the competition.

Chess icon Viswanathan Anand will be the chief guest for the opening ceremony scheduled on September 7. The competition will see top-seeded players like Sarayu Velpula (India), Nazerke Nurgali (Kazakhstan) and Saina Salonika (India) in girls category and Aleksey Grebnev (Russia), L. R Shrihari and Krishna S Rohit (both India) in boys category.

The championship consists of two categories: the Asian junior open (boys and girls) and the Asian girls chess championship.

“This historic event not only highlights Tata Steel's commitment to sports but also showcases the city's growing prominence as a hub for national and international sporting events. Jamshedpur is now not just a host for national sports, but also for international competitions of great significance,” said Tata Steel vice-president, corporate services, Chanakya Chaudhary.

“For the first time, a chess championship of this scale is being hosted in Jharkhand. This reinforces Tata Steel's commitment to promoting chess and nurturing young talent in the region,” added Chaudhary.

Tata Steel had in the past also hosted several international events like the Tata Steel Invitational Grand Masters Chess Tournaments in 1986, followed by another in 1988 in Calcutta.

Tata Steel also established its chess training Centre in Jamshedpur in 1989. The centre has since been a hub for nurturing talent as it successfully trained over 4,000 students.