Team India is the favorite at the Asian Online Nations Cup 2020
Fresh off the heels of winning Gold in FIDE Online Olympiad a little over a month ago, Team India will begin their campaign at Asian Online Nations Cup 2020 tomorrow, Saturday 10th October as the top seed in both Men's and Women's division. Nihal Sarin, Bhakti Kulkarni and Vaishali R are the only three players from the Gold medal winning team of Online Olympiad, will be taking part in this event. Surya Sekhar Ganguly will lead the men's team comprising of Adhiban, Nihal, Sethuraman and Sasikiran. The women's team of Vaishali, Bhakti, Padmini and Nandhidhaa will be led by Mary Ann Gomes. Preliminary stage will consist of 9 rounds in total with three rounds per day in the preliminary stage starting from tomorrow, Saturday at 11:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Various sources
Surya and Mary Ann will lead Team India
Team India is the rating favorite in both Men's and Women's division of Asian Online Nations (Regions) Cup Team Championship starting on Saturday 10th October and it will conclude on Sunday 25th October 2020. The tournament will be played in 9-round Swiss System preliminaries in both Men's and Women's division with a time control of 15 minutes + 5 seconds increment. Top eight teams will qualify to the knockout stage of Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Finals. Each stage will be a duel of two matches. Total US$ 20000 cash prizes and gold, silver and bronze certificates as individual board prizes in the preliminary stages is up for grabs.
Schedule
Saturday 10th October (Men)
Round 1 - 11:30 a.m.
Round 2 - 12:30 p.m.
Round 3 - 1:30 p.m.
Sunday 11th October (Women)
Round 1 - 11:30 a.m.
Round 2 - 12:30 p.m.
Round 3 - 1:30 p.m.
Friday 16th October (Men)
Round 4 - 11:30 a.m.
Round 5 - 12:30 p.m.
Round 6 - 1:30 p.m.
Saturday 17th October (Women)
Round 4 - 11:30 a.m.
Round 5 - 12:30 p.m.
Round 6 - 1:30 p.m.
Sunday 18th October (Men)
Round 7 - 11:30 a.m.
Round 8 - 12:30 p.m.
Round 9 - 1:30 p.m.
Monday 19th October (Women)
Round 7 - 11:30 a.m.
Round 8 - 12:30 p.m.
Round 9 - 1:30 p.m.
Friday 23rd October (Men and Women)
Quarter-Finals - 11:30 a.m.
Quarter-Finals - 12:30 p.m.
Saturday 24th October (Men and Women)
Semi-Finals - 11:30 a.m.
Semi-Finals - 12:30 p.m.
Sunday 25th October (Men and Women)
Finals - 11:30 a.m.
Finals - 12:30 p.m.
All timings are in IST.
Time Control
The time control is 15 minutes + 5 seconds increment for the entire game.
Prizes
Men's division
| Rank | Prize |
| 1st | $5000 |
| 2nd | $3000 |
| 3rd | $1500 |
| 4th | $1500 |
Women's division
| Rank | Prize |
| 1st | $2000 |
| 2nd | $1200 |
| 3rd | $900 |
| 4th | $900 |
5th - 8th $500 each in both division. Total Prize fund is US$ 20000.
Contenders
In the Men's section top three seeds - India, Kazakhstan and Iran are the strong contenders for Gold.
In the Women's section, India and Kazakhstan seem to be the strong contenders for the top places. While average rating-wise Indonesia and Iran might be second and sixth seed respectively but you cannot count them out.
