Bhubaneswar-based star hotel Swosti Plaza will be the venue of the first ever International Open GM Chess Tournament in Orissa, set to be held from June 7 to 14. This will be the fourth GM tournament held in India this year. The event received welcome response as two foreign Grandmasters confirmed their participation soon after the All India Chess Federation approved the dates. ‘‘Grandmaster Dimitriov Kamarov (Ukraine) and Georgy Timoshenko (Armenia) have confirmed their participation. We are expecting around GMs and 40 IMs from 15 to 20 countries,’’ host Orissa Chess Association ad hoc committee member Sekhar Chandra Sahoo said at a press conference in Bhubaneswar today. ‘‘Total number of participants would be around 400, including 500 from Orissa,’’ added Sahoo, himself an International Master. Ad hoc committee chairman Asit Mukherjee announced that the tournament was offering as many as 102 cash prizes, amounting to a total of Rs 10 lakhs. He claimed that the entry fee for the tournament will be the lowest in India. Despite being a temporary body, the ad hoc committee has taken a big risk to raise 55 lakhs to make the tournament memorable for many years. ‘‘Risk has to be taken to achieve success,’’ remarked Sahoo. The committee feels confident because it has the backing of a very enthusiastic sponsor in city private company Star Consultancy Services (SCS). ‘‘SCS is trying to rope in other sponsors. But it is also prepared to finance the event alone even for the next year,’’ committed company director Triveni Kumar Mohanty. For Orissa players, the tournament will be a golden opportunity to improve their Elo rating and gain title (GM, WGM, IM, WIM) norms in home conditions and incurring less expense. As many as 10 Orissa players will vie for norms. They include Swayangsu Satyapragyan (for GM), Padmini Rout and Kiran Manisha Mohanty (for WGM), Soumya Ranjan Mishra (IM), Manoj Panigrahi, Anwesh Upadhyaya, Debasis Das, Utkal Ranjan Sahu, Swayams Mishra, Sidhant Mohapatra (all for FM). Live games of top 30 boards will be available in internet through Monroi. All participants will be provided free accommodation at hotels and guest houses.