Pune youngster, Paras Bhoir (ELO 1875) has been given top billing in the 1st leg of 360 One Wealth Grand Prix Chess Series for Under-15 players, which gets underway here at Russian Centre for Science & Culture, Peddar Road.
Paras will face a stiff challenge from 2nd seeded Arvind Iyer (ELO 1846) and Arnav Koli (ELO 1774), while Swasti Jha (ELO 1222) will be favourite amongst girls.
A total of 121 players, including 44 FIDE rated players have registered for the championship which will be played on a classical format of 7-rounds with a time-control of 90 minutes & 30 seconds per player.
The grand prix series is divided in four legs with each having a prize fund of ₹2.50 Lakhs, with the winner pocketing the first prize of ₹ 50,000 and the coveted Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay trophy. The event is being organised by Indian Chess School under the aegis of FIDE, All India Chess Federation & Maharashtra Chess Association.