Report by Aryaa Sinha
The Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, launched the Torch Relay for the 44th Chess Olympiad on Sunday, 19th June, 22.
This is the very first time that the International Chess Body, FIDE, has instituted the Chess Olympiad Torch which is part of Olympic tradition but was never done in Chess Olympiad.
India is hosting the Chess Olympiad for the first time and in the process, Asia gets to host the event after 30 years. The last Asian country to host this Olympiad was Philippines in 1992.
Acknowledging India’s stature as the country where chess was born (as Chaturanga), FIDE has decided that the torch relay for each Chess Olympiad game will start from India itself and would travel around the world before reaching the host nation (country that will host the tournament).
All India Chess Federation (AICF) has unveiled a social media campaign “Namaste World” welcoming chess community from around the world.
About the ceremony
The ceremony started with traditional dances of India depicting 64 squares. The programme also showcased the history of the ancient game, its origin and evolution.
The FIDE President, Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich, handed over the torch to the Prime Minister, who in turn handed it over to 5-times World Champion Vishwanathan Anand.
India is celebrating 75 years of independence (Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav), so this chess Olympiad torch will also go to 75 cities of the country. Leh, Srinagar, Jaipur, Surat, Mumbai, Bhopal, Patna, Kolkata, Gangtok , Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Thissur , Port Blair and Kanyakumari will be among 75 cities.
At every location, chess grandmasters of the state will receive the torch. The flame, carrying the message of peace and friendship, will culminate in Mahabalipuram (near Chennai) before heading over to FIDE headquarters, Switzerland.
The 44th Chess Olympiad will be held at Chennai from July 28-August 10, 2022.and over 2000 participants will be participating in the event from 188 countries.
What is Chess Olympiad
It is a worldwide chess event where top players of the world compete for their respective nations. FIDE, the International Chess Federation, selects the host nation and organises the tournament.
The tournament is held every two years
The first official Chess Olympiad was held in1927 in London.
India and the Chess Olympiad
India made its debut at the event in 1956 in Moscow with 27th position. Its best showing was a gold medal (joint winners with Russia in 2020 ) and two bronze medals in the 2014 and 2021 editions .2020 and 2021 editions were held virtually
image credit: pib.gov.in and AICF official Twitter account.
