Abhijit amongsts 32 finalists to earn right to watch World champ

Brussels, Aug 11 (UNI) India's International Master Abhijit Gupta figures among 32 players who make it to the final round of the ICC Mexico City Qualifiers to select a player who will earn the opportunity to watch the World Championship in Mexico City next month.

The field, which has 10 Grandmasters, 12 International Masters and two FIDE Masters, is headed by Armenian GM Gabriel Sargissian.

He will face stiff opposition from his fellow GMs such as Rauf Mamedov, Mark Paragua, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami and Daniel Fridman.

Gupta with a Blitz rating of 2997 is on the 11th spot. The final 32 was whittled down from the record-breaking 1,838 players.

The main prize for the winner will be a VIP ringside seat (September 13 to 17) to watch all the action in the World Championship involving Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Alexander Morozevich, Levon Aronian, Alexander Grischuk, Peter Leko, Peter Svidler and Boris Gelfand.

The package for the overall winner includes 1500 dollar to be paid out only on arrival in Mexico to cover their airfares and other expenses. Also included in the package is four nights (September 13-14) at a top hotel in Mexico City, plus VIP tickets for the World Championships, and free entry into the Copa Internacional de la Cd. De Mexico Open.

The finalists will be sorted according to ICC Blitz rating they had when they played their qualifier. They will be paired as: 1-32, 16-17, 8-25, 9-24, 4-29, 13-20, 5-28, 12-21, 2-31, 15-18, 7-26, 10-23, 3-30, 14-19, 6-27, 11-22.

UNI