Atreyo Mukhopadhyay
The beaches of Goa and adjoining areas turn into a sea of humanity between the months of November and February. That’s when the ‘season’ is. During that period, the tiny state, which is arguably the tourism capital of India, becomes a hotbed of activities featuring folks from the world over. Goa has also hosted the International Film Festival of India annually since 2004. This November event has added another dimension to an atmosphere that encourages visitors to have a good time.
Entertainment of another kind is on offer on the Konkan coast this year. The FIDE World Cup is in Goa from October 31 to November 27. Barring the top three in the world, everybody else will be in attendance in the knockout competition, including world champion D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa. The concentration, focus and seriousness top-level chess is associated with is not something that gels easily with the breeze by the beach. But it can be fun.
Initially, the local organisers didn’t see the funny side though. “It’s peak season,” Goa Chess Association (GCA) president, Mahesh Candolkar told RevSportz. “On top of that, there is the film festival (November 20-28). Getting hotel rooms was a headache when we started.”
There are 206 participants. Their teams, FIDE officials, support crew, event managers, sponsors, travelling media — the requirement is over 300 rooms. This year, from January to June, Goa had 5.45 million visitors — an eight per cent rise from the same period in 2024.
“Getting accommodation for so many players and officials for so many days in these months is not easy because hotels are booked. However, we didn’t face problems because the state government is actively involved in organising the World Cup”, said Mahesh Candolkar.
The Goa government and All India Chess Federation (AICF) are the joint organisers of the 29-day event, which will have participants from 84 countries. The World Cup is a property of FIDE — the world governing body of chess. The Goa Chess Association provides logistical support. The players make their own lodging arrangements. “We give options. They choose. I believe a lot of them are staying at the venue itself,” said the official. Rio Resort near Baga beach in a village called Arpora in north Goa is staging the event.
While Candolkar said there will be a grand opening function, he did not disclose details. “All I can say is it will be a ceremony befitting the occasion,” he said. “An anthem for the opening is prepared. The logo of the tournament will be launched on October 16. It’s going to be a special moment for Goa and we will make it memorable.”
Local 19-year-old Leon Luke Mendonca is a part of the field as one of two AICF wild cards. He is the second of the two Grandmasters from Goa, with a respectable Elo rating of 2620. It’s hard to come by a lot of boys and girls with a similar interest out there. They live football. This state has no tradition in strategising over 64 squares. But they have a sense of occasion and they know how to do it. Unfamiliar with chess Goa may be, it will leave no stone unturned in order to make this World Cup a celebration of the game.
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