Five reasons why the PICA chess festival is raising the bar of Indian open chess tournaments.

Miyapur, Hyderabad | 13th August 2026

There is something distinctly different about the atmosphere at the PICA chess festival which is currently underway at the Sri Chaitanya Future Pathways Global School in Miyapur, Hyderabad.

This is not merely another weekend chess tournament where players arrive, play a few games and leave with a result. Here, chess is being given the proper time, the perfect conditions and environment. With eleven rounds of classical chess spread across six days, from August 9 to 14, the tournament is creating the kind of competitive environment in which players can actually experience the demands of serious classical chess. Led by WGM Pratyusha Bodda and VSM Raviteja, the event is being organised by her academy in Hyderabad, the Pratyusha Chess Academy-PICA, under the aegis of FIDE, AICF and the Telangana Chess Association.

As the tournament enters its decisive phase today, August 13, Round 8 and Round 9 are on the schedule, with four more rounds still to come before the final results are known. The tournament therefore remains very much alive, with plenty of chess still to be played.

Eleven rounds. Six days. Real classical chess. A player first approach.

The tournament’s format is perhaps its strongest statement of intent. The festival starts with the classical chess event which features eleven rounds and each game is played with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment from move one, giving the players the chance to actual feel of a classical tournament. That is a substantial commitment from both players and organisers.

For players, it means sitting across the board for a genuinely long game, managing the clock, calculating deeply, navigating difficult positions and making decisions under sustained pressure. For young players in particular, this is valuable tournament education that cannot be replicated by any form of shorter formats of the game. And this is precisely where the tournament’s player-first character becomes apparent. The organisers have not attempted to squeeze classical chess into a convenient window. Instead, they have created a six-day, eleven rounds competitive chess environment in which players have the opportunity to play a proper classical tournament. In an era when speed increasingly dominates competitive chess, giving classical chess room to breathe is itself a statement.

Excellent playing conditions

The playing environment, the location, the venue, the conditions are something that deserves attention. Located at the prime area of the city of Hyderbad, the Sri Chaitanya Future Pathways Global School provides a spacious, air-conditioned playing hall, giving players a comfortable environment in which to concentrate during long games. At the same time, there is adequate space for parents and accompanying persons to sit and wait while the games are underway. Not only that, they can even watch the games live as the whole tournament is live-streamed which you can watch at the waiting area and also on youtube.

That may sound like a small logistical detail. It isn’t. A classical chess tournament is not only about the sixty-four squares. For a young player, particularly one travelling with family, the experience begins long before the first move and continues well after the final handshake. Comfortable surroundings, organised arrangements and consideration for accompanying families can make a significant difference to the overall tournament experience.

And then there is the buttermilk

One of the more thoughtful initiatives at the tournament is something that has nothing to do with Elo ratings. Players are being provided daily refreshments during the rounds, including bananas, biscuits and buttermilk. It is a simple gesture, but an important one. Classical chess is mentally exhausting. Players may remain at the board for several hours, and maintaining energy and concentration matters. Providing refreshments during the tournament demonstrates an understanding that player welfare is part of tournament organisation. It also creates a more welcoming atmosphere around the competition.

The Gold Coin Bonanza adds an element of surprise

Then comes one of the tournament’s most unique features: the Daily Lucky Draw – Gold Coin Bonanza. Every day, one lucky player gets the opportunity to win a gold coin through the daily lucky draw. The only condition is, the player has to be present at the venue 15 mins before the round or they will miss the chance. It is a wonderfully unconventional addition to a serious FIDE-rated classical tournament as it also develops a habit of arriving to the tournament before time and settle yourself and who knows a gold coin can be yours.

The principal rewards in chess are normally determined by performance: points, standings, ratings, trophies and prize money. Here, however, there is also an element of pure chance and celebration, ensuring that the excitement of the tournament is not restricted only to those fighting at the top of the leaderboard. It gives the entire playing field a reason to remain engaged as the winners are greeted with loud applause by all the participants.

Ten live boards, live streaming. More than one tournament. A chess festival.

You ask any senior player when was the last time they have seen ten live boards being arranged for the players in an open tournament? This is probably one of the most amazing things that the festival has pulled off. The top ten boards of the tournament are at the stage and all the games are live transmitted across the world through platforms like Chess.com and Lichess through Digital Game Technology, DGT. For many young players, getting the experience of playing on a professional DGT board is something they will always cherish. And there’s more, the whole tournament is live streams through a moving camera where you can not only watch the top boards in action but also the entire hall. The camera is shifted to different parts of the hall which allows parents and accompanying persons to see their child playing live inside the hall.

The PICA initiative goes beyond the classical tournament itself. The larger concept is that of a chess festival, bringing together classical, rapid and blitz formats too. That gives participants the opportunity to experience different forms of competitive chess within the same festival environment and also gain valuable rating and experience. Classical chess tests patience, calculation and endurance. Rapid chess demands quicker judgement. Blitz compresses decision-making even further and can be fun too.

For a developing player, playing all three formats can provide a remarkably broad competitive experience.

Building a culture around the game

Ultimately, the significance of PICA chess festival lies beyond its prize money.

The ₹6,66,666 prize fund is impressive. The 125-plus prizes are impressive. The gold coin initiative is memorable. The venue arrangements and daily refreshments demonstrate thoughtful organisation. But the deeper achievement is the decision to create a tournament in which classical chess itself remains central. Eleven rounds, six days, long games, comfortable playing environment. Space for parents and families, daily refreshments, opportunities for rated and unrated players, age-group and rating-category prizes, special recognition for women and veterans and a wider chess-festival experience embracing classical, rapid and blitz. Four rounds still remain, the boards will continue to fill. Clocks will start. Scores will change. Players will calculate, defend, attack, sacrifice, blunder, recover and fight for every half-point and somewhere inside this chess festival, another generation of chess players will be accumulating something that cannot be measured entirely by the final standings: experience. That may ultimately be the most valuable prize of all.

And in Miyapur, Hyderabad, that experiment is still unfolding, one game at a time.

Special thanks to Durga Rao for capturing the amazing moments from the tournament. Checkout the photo album of the tournament.

The videos would let you peep into the tournament venue and events captured by me: