Kathmandu, July 27:

Nepal Chess Association (NCA) is organising the first Nepal-India Friendship Rating Chess Tournament from August 12-19.

Around 100 participants are expected to take part in the tournament supported by BP Koirala Nepal-India Foundation and Embassy of India in Kathmandu. The participants from India also include two International Masters, said the organisers at a press meet today.

“Around 60 players including 29 rated players from Nepal and 35 from India will participate in the tournament,” said NCA president Sitaram Agrahari. The tournament carries a

total prize of Rs 160,000 with top 20 players getting the cash prizes.

The winner will receive Rs 32,000 while the runners up will get Rs 24,000 and Rs 19,000 respectively. The top Nepali player will get Rs 5,000, while the best player each from Eastern, Western and Central Regions and an U-17 player will receive Rs 2,000 each.

“The tournament is important for us as our rated players can increase their ratings and the unrated ones can gain rating,” said Agrahari. “The tournament can be beneficial for the country’s ranking as well depending on the players performance,” he said. Nepal are 118th in the world rankings.