Maharashtra eknath

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis: A few months before representing his state and country in the biggest tournament of his life, arranging the finances should be the last thing on a player's mind. But in India, funding remains a matter of concern for all non-cricket sportspersons ahead of major events.

So, as he embarks on his journey to prepare for the 2004 FIDE Candidates tournament to be held in Toronto, Canada from April 2-25, Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi is forced to keep a wary eye on his finances as he will have to spend between Rs 1.30 crore to Rs 1.50 crore to participate in the eight-player double round-robin event, the winner of which will take on reigning World Champion Ding Liren of China.

Besides Gujrathi, two other Indians -- R. Praggnanandha and D. Gukesh -- have qualified for the 2024 Fide Candidates in the open section. R. Vaishali and Koneru Humpy will be representing the country in the Women's Candidates tournament which will be Helsing concurrently.