New Delhi, Nov 28: Eighteen Grandmasters, including five women, figure in the star studded field of 275 players who will be seen in action in the 20,000 dollar prize money Parasvnath Commonwealth Chess Championships to be held here from December 2 to 10.

National champion, GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly (rated 2585) has been top seeded followed by England's GM Gawain Jones (2567).

However, world's youngest Grandmaster, 14-year-old Parimarjan Negi (2514) is likely to hogg the limelight.

The Indian women challenge will be spearheaded by WGM Nisha Mohota (2416) along with national champion WGM Tania Sachdev (2413) and IM Dronavali Harika (2480).

Besides 13 Grandmasters (GM) and five Women Grandmasters (WGM), the field includes 40 International Masters (IM), five Women International Masters (WIM), five FIDE Masters (FM) and three Women FIDE Masters (WFM), and about 70 titled players who would fight it out in 10-round competition with the winner assured of 4,000 dollar as prize money.

The Championships will see the best of the chess players from Australia, Bangladesh, England, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Singapore, Sri-Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago and hosts India displaying their wares.

With more than 20 FIDE rated players and 15 titled players from outside the country having confirmed their participation, the event has got the status of a full-fledged norm tournament.

UNI