Delhi to host the cash-rich 21st HCL International Bridge from September 14.

The 21st HCL International bridge championship with a prize purse of $325,000 will be played at the Leela Ambience Convention here from Saturday.

One of the richest bridge events in the world, the tournament has attracted over 1000 players and 180 teams from the USA, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Russia, Israel, UAE, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh apart from host India.

A new Mixed IMP pairs event has been added to the schedule this year. The Team of Four Gold, the Team of Four Silver, Open Match point pairs, and IMP Pairs will be the other events in the nine-day tournament.

The championship will culminate with the Pro-Am event that will witness amateurs partnering professionals, and learn the nuances of the game.

The championship was established in 2003 by Mrs. Kiran Nadar, a Commonwealth Games gold medalist who also won a medal in the Asian Games in 2018.

“I warmly welcome all players from around the world. As our flagship sports initiative, I have seen the HCL International Bridge championship grow steadily each year, in terms of scale, participation, prestige and competitiveness. I look forward to competing against the best teams,” said Kiran Nadar.