India third Asian country to host International Chess Olympiad; PM Narendra Modi likely to inaugurate

An Indian city will be the 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 be hosting the 44th FIDE Olympiad. While the event is expected to be inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 28th in Chennai, the games will be held in the UNESCO Heritage town Mamallapuram, nearly 50kms away from Chennai.

The grand event that is to take place in Mamallapuram, between 29th August and 10th July 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.

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 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.