MPL Indian Chess Tour announced

by ChessBase
3/30/2022 – India’s own elite online chess tour starts on March 31 with a star-studded line-up of 16 top talents from every corner of the country.

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MPL Indian Chess Tour launches on March 31 with star-studded line-up of elite talent

PRESS RELEASE:29/03/2022

  • India’s new champion Arjun Erigaisi tops bill
  • 1st regional expansion of Meltwater Champions Chess Tour
  • Route for Indian players to qualify for elite events
  • Total prize money for the Tour will be $100,000

India’s own elite online chess tour starts on March 31 with a star-studded line-up of 16 top talents from every corner of the country.

The MPL Indian Chess Tour is the first regional expansion of the world-renowned Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Its launch underlines the incredible boom in chess interest in India.



A prize pot of $100,000 is at stake in the MPL event plus golden tickets to the elite Tour where India’s best will get to take on the world’s best.

The new MPL Indian Chess Tour is being hosted by Play Magnus Group (PMG), founded by World Champion Magnus Carlsen, in partnership with esports giant Mobile Premier League (MPL).

Leg 1 will be a four-day rapid chess tournament running from March 31 to April 3, starting every day at 15:30 IST / 12 CEST. The time control is 15m + 10s.

In the line-up is a mix of some of India’s hottest chess talent, both established and new.



Top of the bill is India’s new national champion Arjun Erigaisi, the 18-year-old from Telangana who recently won the Challengers event at Wijk aan Zee.

Dommaraju Gukesh, from Chennai, is another one of India’s brightest stars hoping to break through to the top level. Gukesh, who is now 15, is a huge talent who narrowly missed out on the record for the world’s youngest grandmaster aged 12.

The line-up also includes more established stars like the Keralan S.L. Narayanan, Adhiban Baskaran, Harika Dronavalli and “Mr Commonwealth” Abhijeet Gupta.



Together with MPL, Play Magnus Group aims to bring the innovative online format of the $1.6 million Meltwater Champions Chess Tour to India and encourage new growth in the game across the region.

The MPL Tour will comprise four online tournaments followed by a Final where the winner will be crowned MPL Indian Chess Tour Champion 2022. The matches will be streamed on chess24, chess24india and MPL’s YouTube and Facebook channels.
People can also follow the action on the MPL App where the matches will be streamed live.

Commenting on the partnership and the Tour, Namratha Swamy, Country Head - India, MPL, said: “We are excited to partner with the Play Magnus Group and launch the first regional version of the prestigious Meltwater Champions Chess Tour in India. At MPL, we have been consistently focusing on popularizing Chess and supporting the talent across the country through many initiatives. India is the first country to see expansion of such a world-class tournament and this goes on to prove that Indians’ interest in Chess has increased significantly during the past few years. This Chess Tour will provide a great opportunity for India’s Chess players to compete at a global level.” 

The winner of each tournament will receive an invitation to the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour and an opportunity to play against the world’s best chess players including World Chess Champion and highest rated player of all time, Magnus Carlsen. They will also qualify for a knockout final with a $10,000 top prize.

Follow the action on Thursday 31st at 15:00 IST/11:30 CEST at https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/mpl-indian-chess-tour-2022-1#live

For further comments contact: 

Ayelen Martinez, VP of Content & Operations
ayelen.martinez@cisha.de

About the Meltwater Champions Chess TourThe Champions Chess Tour is the leading online chess Tour worldwide determining the world's best chess player over a full competitive season of online chess. The 2022 season begins in February 2022 and features monthly tournaments culminating in a Final in November 2022. The best chess players in the world are competing in rapid chess. All games take place online on www.chess24.com with players competing for a total prize pool of over USD 1.5 million. For more information visit www.championschesstour.comAbout Play Magnus GroupPlay Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers e-learning and entertainment services via its market leading brands: chess24, Chessable, iChess, New In Chess, Everyman Chess, Silver Knights, Aimchess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The Group's mission is to grow chess to make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess. Play Magnus Group is listed on Euronext Growth Oslo under the ticker PMG. www.pmg.me.About Mobile Premier League (MPL)MPL is currently one of the largest global esports and skill gaming platforms. MPL has over 70 games across categories, such as fantasy, quizzing, esports and casual games on its Android and iOS apps. Founded by Sai Srinivas and Shubh Malhotra in 2018, MPL has grown rapidly and is trusted by over 90 million users across India, Indonesia and the U.S. MPL also has multiple gaming studios and developer partners which publish games on its platform.


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