AICF submits bid to host World Chess Championship in Chennai

The All India Chess Federation (AICF) submitted a bid to host the much anticipated World Chess Championship clash between D Gukesh and 2023 world champion Ding Liren of China.

The event will be held in Chennai from November 20 to December 15 if AICF wins the bid, reported PTI.

“We have received the bid from India,” FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky was quoted as saying by the news agency.

At the moment, India is the only country to bid for the hosting rights of the high-octane final. The deadline for submitting a bid is May 31.

However, as per reports, Singapore is also mulling to bid for the event but is yet to submit the bid documents.

“As of now no other country has bid for it but the deadline is till end of this week. Post that we will have a FIDE Council meeting next week. And after that due procedure will be followed and we will decide about the hosting rights,” Sutovsky added.

If India wins the bid, AICF has to give INR 71 crore to FIDE and shell out another $1.1 million (INR 9 crore) as a facilitation fee for the global body.

FIDE will award a total prize money of around INR 20 crore, an increase from the previous year's prize pool of Rs 17 crore.

The duration of the tournament is 25 days and approval of regulations will be completed by July 1.

India hosted the World Chess Championship twice in 2000 and 2013.

Gukesh entry into the final has reignited interest in Indian chess. The young Indian player broke Garry Kasparov's 40-year-old record by becoming the youngest Candidates champion at the age of 17 in April this year in Toronto. Kasparov was 20 when he qualified to face Anatoly Karpov in 1984.

Viswanathan Anand won his first world title in a tournament format featuring 100 players, defeating Alexei Shirov in the final. However, in 2013, Anand lost to the Norwegian challenger Magnus Carlsen.