Chess: GM Vidit Gujrathi qualifies for FIDE Grand Swiss League

Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi has qualified for the FIDE Grand Swiss league which will be held in Riga, Latvia from October 25 to November 8. The Nashik-based player has also qualified for the FIDE Grand Prix 2022 after reaching the top eight at the recently-concluded Chess World Cup 2021.

He has two shots to book his spot at the prestigious Candidates 2022 from which a player qualifies to challenge the world champion. Gujrathi had recently reached the quarterfinals at the World Cup in Sochi, becoming only the second Indian after maestro Viswanathan Anand to do so.

"I was confident that I would qualify for the Grand Swiss league considering my previous performance in the past year. It was a great feeling to play Classical chess and that too over the board," he was quoted as saying in a press release.

"Indeed it is always a proud moment representing India and this time it was more special as I reached the Quarter-finals. I am happy with my overall performance and looking forward to the next tournaments. My aim is to play the best chess and qualify for the Candidates 2022."

A total of four Indian men have qualified for the Swiss league and they include GM Anand, GM Pentala Harikrishna and GM B Adhiban apart from Gujrathi. The Swiss League event will feature the top 114 players in an 11- round Swiss format.

There are other reserve players also which include other Indians like GM K Sasikaran, GM S P Sethuraman and GM Aravindh Chithambaram. The qualification for the event was based on the average rating from June 2020 to July 2021.

GM D Harika has qualified for the women's Swiss league which will feature the top 50 players across the globe.

IM R Vaishali is on the reserve players list.

The FIDE Swiss league is an important event as the players finishing in the top two in the Men's and Women's category get their seats booked at the Candidates 2022 and stand a chance to challenge the World champion.