Chennai has been gripped by Chess fever recently with simply 4 days remaining for the forty fourth Chess Olympiad. Earlier than the mega occasion kicks in, the chess extravaganza has continued. The town on Sunday held a curtain raiser to evaluate the preparations forward of the event which is anticipated to seize many eyeballs.
Additionally, a number of thousand individuals took half in an Olympiad particular run organized within the metropolis right now forward of the distinguished event. State Ministers together with MA Subramanian, TM Anbarasan, and PK Sekar Babu amongst others had been current on the occasion.
As many as 1,414 gamers took half within the check event held in varied age classes.
The curtain raiser event was performed in the identical corridor right now that may host the forty fourth Chess Olympiad, making a world report by changing into the biggest Open ever the place all of the video games had been performed on digital boards. The Tamil Nadu authorities is leaving no stone unturned within the efforts to make the Olympiad an enormous success. GM Vishnu Prasanna of Tamil Nadu was the highest-rated participant within the fray and justified the highest billing by notching 9 wins from as many video games on this Swiss League occasion which carried a prize purse of Rs 500000.
AICF president Dr. Sanjay Kapoor was happy with the proceedings and stated, “We seem like hitting the report books with a regularity, which is way over what we anticipated. Our laborious work is reaping dividend, first with a world report with 187 international locations registering, the best ever within the historical past of the Olympiad and right now this“.
The chess Olympiad is being held in India for the primary time and the event might be held at close by Mamallapuram. Gamers from over 180 international locations might be collaborating within the Olympiad with three Indian groups every within the Open and girls’s sections.
‘Thambi’, the mascot of the marquee occasion, may be seen at varied locations within the metropolis whereas the enduring Napier Bridge has been painted in black and white colours to resemble a chess board. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the occasion on the Nehru Indoor Stadium right here on July 28 within the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Ok Stalin whereas the matches will start from July 29 and go on until August 10.
Chief Minister Stalin himself has been on the forefront, supervising the preparations and visiting the venue to examine the preparations.
(Inputs from PTI)