The Karnataka government will host an online chess tournament to raise relief funds for COVID-19. The chess tournament will be organized by the joint alliance of Bengaluru’s Mobile Premium League (MPL) and the United Karnataka Chess Association (UKCA).
The chess tournament will be hosted by the department of sports and youth empowerment of Karnataka to raise relief funds for the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19.
The online chess tournament is scheduled to be held on May 2 and 3 on the mobile app MPL. All the revenue generated from the competition will be donated to the Karnataka state relief fund of COVID-19.
CT Ravi, sports and youth empowerment Minister of Karnataka, said that “This is a very crucial time for us to stay strong and stay united. Today we all have a common battle against the coronavirus, which has taken lives of thousands of people and have destroyed the livelihood of even more”.
“I request to all the chess players of our country, to make even a single step to move, strategize and finally make the checkmate to the coronavirus in their own way. The donations made by the chess players will be a great help for the needy” he added.
The Secretary of UKCA, R Hanumantha, said that “We highly appreciate the efforts made by the Karnataka government and the MPL and also to their contribution. We will intensity the online chess community in Karnataka and will try to make the same in other states also, to make an atmosphere of strength and unanimity.”
The CEO and Co-founder of MPL, Sai Srinivas Kiran, said that “This is a crucial time for us to come all together and battle in the fight against COVID-19. We are hoping for a wide range of participation in the upcoming tournament.”
The online chess tournament is not only for Karnataka but also anyone across India can participate in it with entry fees of Rs 50. The total prize money of the tournament is set to Rs 10 lakh which includes the first prize of Rs 1 lakh. MPL has coverage of more than 40 million users throughout the country, and hence huge participation is expected for the tournament.