Elite GMs from India Compete in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship Release Date - July 13, 2007

Ottawa, ON - Two of India’s top chess players, Grandmasters Abhijit Kunte and Sandipan Chanda, are in Ottawa, competing in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship from July 7 to 15. GM Kunte, co-winner of the 2006 Canadian Open Chess Championship, has returned to defend his title in this year’s match. With a current FIDE rating of 2532, GM Kunte is among the elite of world chess champions.
Also competing is 2007 World Open co-champion and two-time Olympian GM Sandipan Chanda. He received his Grandmaster status from FIDE in 2003, making him India’s 9th Grandmaster. With a FIDE rating of 2552, Chanda also ranks among the world’s ace chess players.
The 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship is Canada’s premier event for chess players. A 10-round, one-section event, it promises to be one of the strongest chess events in Canada’s history. Grandmasters Chanda and Kunte are testing their skills against other renowned Grandmasters, including acclaimed British GM Nigel Short (2006 Commonwealth Chess Champion, 2006 European Union Chess Champion), GM Sergey Tiviakov (2006 and 2007 Dutch Chess Champion), and GM Suat Atalik (2007 Turkish Chess Champion). Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi, China’s top-ranking player, is also providing formidable competition.
The India contingent of Chanda and Kunte is being sponsored by ATFCAN, an Ottawa-based not-for-profit corporation that commercializes clean energy technologies around the world.

From left: Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte, High Commissioner of India R.L. Narayan, ATFCAN CEO Rodney Semotiuk and Grandmaster Sandipan Chanda

For more information, please contact:
Judith Peralta, Communications Officer
ATFCAN
Tel: +1 613 231 4310 Ext.224
Email: peralta@atfcan.com
Or visit www.canchess.ca