India is set to propose Delhi as host for the World Chess Championship later this year between reigning world champion Ding Liren and 18-year Indian challenger, D Gukesh, it is learnt.
The India International Convention and Expo Centre, ‘Yashobhoomi’ in Dwarka, on the Delhi-Gurgaon border, is being pitched as the venue for the match by India in its bid.
According to government officials, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) has been granted to the All India Chess Federation to host the match. While it was believed that Gukesh’s hometown and India’s chess hub, Chennai might be a natural choice, it is understood that a ‘central location’ was preferred by authorities.
The last date for bid submission to the international chess federation, Fide, is May 31. Fide is expected to make a decision on the host in June.
Inaugurated in September 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ‘Yashobhoomi’ is among the world’s largest MICE (meetings, incentives, conference and exhibitions) facilities. The complex’s first phase covers a total area of 1.07 lakh sq.m. out of the planned 8.90 lakh sq.m.making it bigger than Bharat Mandapam, the venue for the G20 Summit in 2023.
‘Yashobhoomi’ was originally slated to be the G20 venue before construction delays forced a shift to Bharat Mandapam, another swanky, new convention centre in Delhi. The total cost of the ‘Yashobhoomi’ centre was announced to be ₹25,700 crore and Phase 1 is said to have been developed at a cost of ₹5400 crore, according to the PM’s office. The convention centre (73,000 square metres) comprises 15 convention rooms, including the main auditorium, the grand ballroom, and 13 meeting rooms and can house 11,000 delegates.
Fide is keen to have the match hosted at a state-of-the-art world class venue and has spoken of it being ‘unacceptable’ to conduct it in just another hotel room. “The financial aspect is of course important and so is the status of the venue proposed,” Fide director general Emil Sutovsky told HT earlier, when asked about the factors that would go into picking a host.
After the Candidates tournament in April this year, Fide issued a call for bids setting a minimum total budget of $8.5 million which includes a prize fund of at least $2.5 million and a Fide fee of $1.1 million. Fide justified the remaining $4.9 million that doesn’t fall under an expressly defined head as costs towards securing anti-cheating measures, broadcast and technological upgrades. Provisionally scheduled to be held between November 20 and December 15 this year, it will be a best of 14-game affair with the first to reach 7.5 points being declared winner.
India hosted the first six rounds of the 2000 World Championship in New Delhi and the final half was played in Tehran, Iran. It led to Viswanathan Anand being crowned world champion for the first time.
In the past two decades, India has hosted a World Chess Championship match only once, in 2013. The match between Magnus Carlsen and Anand was organised in Anand’s hometown Chennai at a cost of ₹29 crores. In 2011, then Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa had met Fide president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and offered to host the 2012 match between Boris Gelfand and Anand in Chennai at a cost of ₹20 crores. The match, however, ended up being held in Moscow and the following year, the Carlsen-Anand World Championship was awarded to Chennai without bidding.
Singapore too has expressed interest to host the Gukesh-Ding match, in light of the country’s burgeoning chess scene. The South East Asian country sees itself as an ideal neutral venue with Chinese and Indian cultures being weaved into its society. They did, however, earlier touch upon the hosting costs being somewhat prohibitive.
Earlier this year, Singapore struck a deal with concert organisers to be the exclusive South East Asian stop for American pop superstar Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour – a hugely successful, multi-continent extravaganza. While it earned the annoyance of neighbouring countries, Singapore made a windfall out of it – tourists poured in and in-bound flight prices skyrocketed.
