Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin will start as favourite in the Asian Continental Chess Championship in Al Ain, UAE.
The nine-round event will see an in-form Sarin, who is the top seed, competing for the top prize as well as a berth in the next World Chess Cup slated to be held in New Delhi in October later this year.
As many as 18-Indian Grandmasters will be seen in action in the strongest Asian championship with top 10 places reserved for the next World Chess Cup.
Sarin, who recently won the Tashkent Open, is now closing in on becoming the next 2700 ELO rating player from India with just seven points short of the coveted mark.
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The ride could be bumpy though with presence of many Asian stalwarts like Amin Tabatabai of Iran and Nodirbek Yakubboev of Uzbekistan, who have been given the second and third billing.
Forth seeded Murali Karthikeyan will be the other Indian to watch out for, while Leon Luke Mendonca and reigning world junior champion V Pranav are likely to be other major contenders for a podium finish.
Though not at their prime, one can never rule out several times national champion and former gold medallist Surya Shekhar Ganguly and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta in the USD 80,000 prize money event.
The women championship will be held simultaneously and the Indian challenge will be spearheaded by International Master and Chess Olympiad gold medallist Vantika Agrawal.
This will also be the first time ever that the Russian players will be part of the Asian event, playing under the FIDE flag.
Topping the list in the women’s section is Leya Garifullina who will start as the top seed, Valentina Gunina and Olga Girya, who are seeded second and thiird.
Vantika, seeded seventh, can give everyone a run for their money as she has been doing pretty well in the ladies’ section.
P V Nandhidha, Padmini Rout and Rakshitha Ravi are the other Indian players, who can make a mark for themselves but a good start will be the key for them.
The event will also have two blitz championships, for men and women, reserved for the last day.