44th Int'l Chess Olympiad liveried aircraft unveiled; school students go on maiden flight
44th Int'l Chess Olympiad liveried aircraft unveiled
In the run-up to the grand opening ceremony of the 44th FIDE International Chess Olympiad on Thursday, a special passenger plane with a '44th Chess Olympiad' livery was unveiled. The aircraft with the special livery was unveiled at the airport of the host city in Southern India, Chennai, in the presence of Government officials, elected representatives, and school students who won chess competitions at the district level.
The Indian city will bethe third in Asia, after Dubai and Manila to host an International Chess Olympiad organized by Fédération Internationale des Échecs (French for International Chess Federation). The southern Indian city of Chennai, also the capital of Tamil Nadu, will witness Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the State's Chief Minister MK Stalin sharing stage, inaugurating the games on Thursday.
149 students from Government-run schools and three of their teachers also had the unique opportunity to fly on-board the special liveried aircraft. The group flew from Chennai-Bengaluru and returned on Wednesday afternoon and the young passengers, most of them first-time flyers had an opportunity to enjoy a game of chess mid-air. This initiative to fly the school students and also facilitate their interaction with International players, has been undertaken by the Tamil Nadu government, in order to further promote the sport.
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While the inaugural event is to take place in Chennai, the Olympiad will be held in Mamallapuram, a UNESCO World Heritage town almost 50kms away from the capital city. Taking place between29th August and 10th July, the Olympiad is expected to attract more than 2,000 visitors from 180 countries. However, teams from China and Russia will not be taking part in this edition of the event.Notably, Mamallapuram, the host town is also the one that witnessed a bilateral summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, in October 2019.
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Originally planned to be hosted in Russia, the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad was moved to India due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. As part of the initial promotional activities for the event in Chennai, veteran actor Rajinikanth had released a music video made by Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman.Launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a torch relay is underway since June 19th. This torch will travel across 75 iconic locations in India, before arriving in Mamallapuram, the event host town.
