New Delhi: All records are set to be broken as the 14th edition of the Delhi International Chess will have over 1,400 participants in three categories fighting for a prize fund of Rs 35 lakh.

The biggest Indian open grew even bigger this year with the highest ever prize money offered on Indian soil in any open tournament. The premier event has drawn world class players like Boris Grachev of Russia who will start as the top seed in the ‘A’ group.

The Indian challenge will be spearheaded by Grandmaster and former Commonwealth Champion M R Lalith Babu who starts as the tenth seed in a star studded field comprising 21 Grandmasters and 20 International Masters in a field of around 190 participants as of now.

The “B” group that starts along-side the main event on Saturday has 523 participants while the ‘C’ group remains the biggest draw with the participants’ list touching close to 800. With entries still pouring in at the last minute, the organisers are sure to cross the 1600 mark, which is a shade more than those who participated last year.

The ‘A’ group also gives opportunities for players to get International title norms and there are ample title holders to facilitate the norms of candidates who perform well. There are more than a handful of Indian talents here vying for their respective title norms.

“This remains as good an opportunity for any chess player in our country as well as abroad as it was when we started this event. Having started with a meagre prize fund of Rs 35 lakh in 2002, the tournament prize fund has grown ten times in fourteen editions,” said Bharat Singh Chauhan, President of Delhi Chess Association.

Come Saturday, the Ludlow Castle Sports complex will be bustling with chess players eager to make their moves. All the three categories are open to all participants and the registration for the ‘C’ group is open till the 12th of January 2016.

There will be ten rounds in all categories.