Chennai: For the first time in the history of India, the 44th Chess Olympiad is being held at Mamallapuram in the historic Tamil Nadu. The opening ceremony will be held today at 6 pm at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. Prime Minister Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin will inaugurate. Central and state ministers, officials and chess players from all over the world are participating in this program.
Historical buildings in Chennai, Chennai Corporation Building, War Memorial on the beach, Marina Beach, Karunanidhi Memorial, Nehru Stadium etc. are decorated with colored lights due to the Chess Olympiad. These are brightly colored to attract the onlookers. The colorful fountains attract the onlookers by splashing the water. The Napier Bridge at Marina Beach, which was already lit up with chessboards, has now been further brightened up with colored lights.
Chief Minister Stalin immediately allocated 100 crore rupees to hold the Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu and ordered the preparations for the festival to begin immediately. In the intervening 3 months, the Tamil Nadu government has made huge preparations for the competition. 7 layers of police security has been deployed at Chennai Airport, Nehru Indoor Sports Stadium where the opening ceremony will be held and Mamallapuram where the match will be held, as the Prime Minister will attend the opening ceremony and foreigners will attend the tournament. Coastal areas have also been brought under surveillance. Traffic has been diverted at various places in Chennai.
Traffic has been banned today on the roads of the venue where the opening ceremony of the chess tournament will be held this evening. Ukraine, Germany, USA, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Venezuela, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, Oman, Uzbekistan, Denmark and teams from around 187 countries are participating in the tournament. 1,736 players are participating in the tournament.
The 44th edition of the World Chess Olympiad, which was supposed to be held in Russia this year, was canceled due to Russia’s war with Ukraine. So, India got that chance. It is noteworthy that Tamil Nadu government has created history by getting it.