The Sakthi Group 34th Tamil Nadu IM Norm Closed Circuit tournament
The Sakthi Group 34th Tamil Nadu IM Norm Closed Circuit tournament, organised by Tamil Nadu State Chess Association at Hotel Le Palace was inaugurated by Shri. Jones Ferling Raja, I.R.S., Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Chennai & former coach, Indian Women Volleyball Team in the presence of Shri. D.V. Sundar, former Vice President, World Chess Federation, FIDE, Shri. P. Stephen Balasamy, General Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and Shri. B. Murugavel, Vice president, TNSCA and Shri. Anantharam, Vice president, TNSCA.
The main feature of the tournament is the participation of master Apoorv Kamble of Karnataka, who achieved his maiden IM norm in the 31st edition of the series, about two weeks back. IM Oblitas Carloimagno of Peru is the highest rated player in the tournament, with a rating of 2379. FM Raghav V of Chennai, FM Dinesh Rajan M of Karaikudi and FM Otero Acosta Diasmany of Cuba are the other players rated above 2300, indicating the strength of the tournament.
IM Raul Claverie of Argentina, IM Palencia Morales Wilson Guillermo of Columbia and IM Gomez Sanchez Jorge Marcos complete the list of foreign participants. Other Tamil Nadu youngsters include sixteen year old KP Pranav of Chennai and Tamil Nadu champion B Vignesh, also from Chennai.
The tournament will have nine rounds and the aspiring Indian players need 6.5 points each to get the coveted IM norm.
