As many as 100 competitors will gather in the city in July 2014, just weeks ahead of the main event, when Glasgow hosts its first-ever Commonwealth Chess Championships.

The city saw off competition from India and England to stage the event, which has run since the 1950s.

In recent years it has been held in Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong and South Africa, with India the most frequent host.

Organisers hope to attract UK legend Nigel Short, who became a grandmaster in 1984 after taking on Garry Kasparov. Scotland's Jonathan Rowson, also The Herald's chess columnist, is expected to be a contender.