 "Vidit Gujrathi will be competing in the Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour just four days after tying the knot. Image: PTI")
The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour is set to have even more Indian participation next month with Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi qualifying for the second leg that will be taking place in Paris in April. Gujrathi confirmed his ticket to the French capital by winning the Freestyle Chess Paris Play-in, joining reigning world champion D Gukesh, Tata Steel Chess champion R Praggnanandhaa and world No 5 Arjun Erigaisi.
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Gukesh, who will be featuring in all five events as the reigning world champion, was the only Indian in action in the opening event of the inaugural Grand Slam Tour in Weissenhaus, Germany. The 18-year-old ended up finishing a disappointing eighth out of 10 competitors after failing to win a single game .
Gujrathi to fly to Paris right after wedding
The Paris leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour takes place between 7 to 14 April – exactly two months after the Weissenhaus leg. For Gujrathi, however, the first week of April will be real hectic as he will be in action in Paris just four days after his marriage, meaning his honeymoon will have to take the backseat for now. Gujrathi will is set to tie the knot with his fiancee Nidhi Kataria, a homeopathic doctor by profession.
“I have my wedding in early April, and now probably Paris will be the place where I go for honeymooning because there’s no time. As soon as I get married, I’ll be flying out, it looks like, but I will need help with the visa, if anybody’s watching, for my fiancee—that will be useful!” Gujrathi was quoted as saying by Chess.com.
Gujrathi qualified for the event after defeating Richard Rapport 1.5-0.5 to win the event and become the 12th and final participant for the Paris leg.
The 30-year-old, who was part of the Indian contingent that completed a historic golden sweep at the Chess Olympiad last year, had earlier defeated compatriot M Pranesh by a similar margin in the quarter-finals before handing Amin Tabatabaei a 2-0 semi-final defeat.