 "D Gukesh won the FIDE Candidates Chess tournament after it went right down to the wire. Image: X/FIDE")
The All India Chess Federation (AICF) is exploring options before officially making a call on the bidding process for the FIDE World Championship match between India’s D Gukesh and China’s Ding Liren.
“We are internally assessing everything required to bid for it — understanding things like logistics, commercials and everything. Once we have a deeper understanding and a huge clarity on the dynamics, then we will be able to take a call,” AICF president Nitin Narang told news agency PTI.
Narang said a decision on the host city can only be made after assessing whether they will bid or not.
On Saturday, the international chess federation (FIDE) invited prospective bidders for the World Championship match later in the year. The criteria outlined for a prospective bidders is a budget of $8.5 million (Rs 71 crore approx) and a facilitation fee of $1.1 million (Rs 9 crore approx).
AICF, or other interested federations, have until 31 May to submit their bids. FIDE will allot the prestigious tournament on 1 July.
The overall prize money earmarked by FIDE is around $2.5 million (Rs 21 crore approx), increased from $2 million (Rs 17 crore) in 2023.
The World Championship match is tentatively scheduled for the period between 20 November and 15 December.
D Gukesh, the 17-year-old Chennai boy, qualified for the grand finale after his historic win at the Candidates Chess tournament in Toronto last week. He became the youngest Grandmaster to win the Candidates tournament and the youngest to qualify for the World Championship, breaking the 40-year-old record set by Russian great Garry Kasparov .