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Let's rebuild Odisha - an online tournament to raise funds for the destruction done by Fani cyclone

by Shahid Ahmed - 08/05/2019

On 12th May 2019, an online blitz tournament will be held to raise funds for the destruction done by 'Fani' cyclone in Odisha. The entire money received through donation will be given to Chief Minister's Relief fund. The tournament has no entry fee. Each player is requested to donate a minimum of Rs 100, however there is no maximum limit. The tournament will take place at 8 p.m. so even if you are playing some tournament or have some other work, you can still take part in it. Certain parts of the state have been badly affected and the normal life has been badly disrupted. Photo: PTI

"Let's rebuild Odisha" Online Blitz Tournament on 12th May 2019

Look at some of the photos of the amount of destruction caused by Cyclone Fani:

Photo: PTI

Houses have crumbled down

From where to begin the rebuilding process is the question

Please help us - a gentleman seems to say as he stranded on the road without proper clothes

Cyclone Fani that hit Odisha caused a lot of devastation. Prior to its landfall, authorities in India and Bangladesh moved at least a million people each from Fani's projected path onto higher ground and into cyclone shelters, which is thought to have reduced the resultant death toll. As of 7 May 2019, 57 people are known to have been killed by Fani in Eastern India and Bangladesh.

 

The cyclone adversely affected electricity supply and telecommunication in several coastal areas of Odisha. Puri and Khordha district in Odisha were the worst hit. The Jagannath Temple in Puri suffered minor damage, the repairing cost were estimated to be ₹5.1 crore (US$738,000). The Indian state of Andhra Pradesh reported no loss of life or injury, but estimated an economic damage of ₹58.62 crore (US$8.5 million). Insurance loss across India may reach ₹2000 crore (US$290 million).

 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government had released over ₹1000 crore (US$145 million) for the states affected by Fani. It is our request to you to help the victims of this natural disaster in whatever way you can. Yes, it is true that the government and other prominent individuals are collecting funds to resurrect the state of Odisha once again. However, we at ChessBase India believe that we as chess players should do our bit. Around a million people were evacuated and moved to 5000 temporary shelters before landfall on last Friday. There has been a huge loss and the life of people has been completely disrupted.

 

Odisha is one of the most vibrant states in India when it comes to the chess scene. In fact a huge GM Open will be held later this month in KIIT University. A lot of players wanted to contribute towards this cause and asked if ChessBase India could raise funds by holding an online chess tournament on the 12th of May 2019. And so, we are organizing a tournament - "Let's rebuild Odisha" where all the amount that you donate will be contributed to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. The minimum amount that needs to be contributed is Rs.100. There is no upper limit. You can even contribute if you would not like to play the tournament.

Details of the tournament

Date: 12th May 2019

Time: 8:00 p.m. IST

Time control: 3 mins + 0 second increment

Number of rounds: 9

Prize: Magnus Carlsen DVD signed by the World Champion himself for the winner of the tournament

Venue: Vishy Anand Arena in Playchess

Prize:

Since the tournament is just to generate some relief fund for the victims of the Cyclone 'Fani', there is only one Prize of Magnus Carlsen's DVD, signed by the World Champion himself.

The champion of the tournament will receive a signed copy of Master Class Vol. 8 Magnus Carlsen which is autographed by the World Champion himself

Note: Only one player, the champion of the tournament will get the prize.

Donate to the cause:

There is no entry fee. However, only the people who donate will be allowed to play. It is requested to donate a minimum of Rs 100 for the cyclone 'Fani' victims. There is no maximum limit. The entire proceedings will go to the victims' family via Chief Minister's Relief fund.

 

Entry is closed now, however you can still donate and contribute to the cause

People who live outside India and would like to contribute, can do so from here: https://www.paypal.me/chessbaseindia

 

All the money collected will be donated to Chief Minister's Relief Fund

All the money collected will be donated to Chief Minister's Relief Fund

Each one of us can definitely afford Rs.100. It is our request to everyone to help the victims of this natural disaster in whatever way they can.

 

India's latest GM Swayams Mishra makes an appeal to the chess community to come forward and contribute towards this noble cause. He will be participating in the tournament as well.

Technical details:

Please ensure that you have a valid Playchess id. You can create one here.

Contact:

For registration queries contact:

Mr. Shahid Ahmed (Tournament director) - 9038139510

Email - teamchessbaseindia@gmail.com

• We request all players to check their internet connection before the tournament. Minimum requirement should be at least 2 mbps. No phone calls/messages will be entertained from 8 p.m. IST onwards.

How to play tournament?

1. Download the free Windows software of Playchess

Firstly you have to download the free native Windows software from here. If you have Mac OS or Mac Computer, then you have to use some VMWare to run it as Playchess Desktop Client has native support on Windows OS only.

Login or Create account

After you have installed the Client. You must login.

Enter your Playchess username and password if you have one. (Note, for all the ChessBase Account Premium members, your login credentials will work). If you do not have a Username, you must click on "Create New Player Name" and create a new account. Alternatively, you can also create it here. This is free of cost and gives you free access to Playchess for a few days. 

The tournament will take place in the Vishy Anand Arena in the ChessBase India room. Registered players should be online and logged into Playchess at least 30 minutes before the start of the tournament to confirm your entries on 24th of February.

Click on the ‘Players’ Tab and then click on ‘Join Event’. The Sysop (Tournament Director) will accept your entry. Only those who have donated the money will be allowed to play.

Note: The Playchess id, while donating the amount and playing the tournament should be the same.

Let us all do our bit as chess players and support a noble cause

About HelpChess

ChessBase India Foundation has indulged in raising funds not just for the talents of Indian chess but also on issues on national importance by galvanizing the chess community together.

Rs. 1,74,463 was raised for the floods that took place in Kerala

A tournament was held for the matryrs of Pulwama and an amount of Rs. 1,01,973 was raised

You can also make a direct donation to the bank account of ChessBase India Foundation which will later be donated to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund:

Name :- ChessBase India Foundation
A/C. No. :- 50200031999591
Bank Name: HDFC Bank.
Type of Account: Current Account
Branch Name :- GHATKOPAR EAST-TILAK ROAD
Branch Address :- 001 / 002,Samyak Darshan,Junction Of Tilak Road& Vallabh Baug Lane,Mumbai,
IFSC CODE :- HDFC0000118

 

All the contributors will be mentioned in a separate article which will be published when the tournament ends and the donation is made.


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