Prime Minister Narendra Modi Will inaugurate the historic torch relay for the 44th Chess Olympiad on June 19, will flag off the relay from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium at 5 pm. He will also address the gathering on this occasion.
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovic will hand over the torch to PM Modi, who will in turn hand it over to Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand.
Starting from the national capital, the historic Olympiad torch relay will travel across the country (75 cities in 40 days) before reaching its destination- Mahabalipuram on July 27. Leh, Srinagar, Jaipur, Surat, Mumbai, Bhopal, Patna, Kolkata, Gangtok, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Thrissur, Port Blair and Kanyakumari will be among the 75 cities.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) started the Olympic-style torch relay tradition for its Olympiads from this year’s event and named it India As the starting flame point for each edition, in memory of the popularity of chess in the country where the game originated.
“I am really excited to be a part of this historic moment. I was always fascinated by the Olympic torch relay concept and now we have one in chess too. But the most amazing thing is that it will always start from India. And as an Indian, I feel really proud of this fact,” said five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand while addressing the media during a press conference in Delhi on Friday.
All India Chess Federation (AICF) President Sanjay Kapoor and AICF Secretary and Director of Olympiad Bharat Singh Chauhan were also present at the event along with Jagdish Mitra, Head Strategy, Tech Mahindra and Ms Apoorva, Principal Secretary. Government of Tamil Nadu.
“Chess Olympiad Torch Relay is a great medium to popularize the sport in India. We have ensured that it visits every corner of the country and inspires many. It will be a once in a lifetime experience for all. Mine. It is believed that this will go a long way in making India a global chess superpower.
“This Olympiad torch relay will add a golden chapter in Indian sports history and starting from every edition from India, it will inspire generations to embrace the sport. On behalf of the federation, we thank the honorable Prime Minister Modi ji for accepting our invitation. AICF President Kapur said that such events take a lot of effort and we are fortunate that we have got the support of everyone including the government and other stakeholders.
The 44th edition of the world’s biggest chess event will be held at Mahabalipuram near Chennai from July 28 to August 10. In the nearly 100-year history of Chess Olympiad, this is the first time that India will host this prestigious event.
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