Indian Prime Minister Flags off First ever torch Relay for Chess Olympiad. 

The Prime Minister played the ceremonial move with the Indian grandmaster, Kneru Humpy, for the 44th chess Olympiads. India will be the host of the event for the very first time. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first ever torch relay for the 44th edition of the Chess Olympiad. The event will take place at Mahabalipuram in India from July 28th to August 10th, 2022. FIDE is the international chess body that has instituted the torch relay which is a part of Olympic Tradition. Arkady Dvorkovich the president of FIDE handed over the torch to Prime Minister Modi, which was further handed over to Indian chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand. 

More about the 44th Chess Olympiad

This lighted torch in the inauguration event will be carried on to seventy five cities over a span of forty days before arriving at Mahabalipuram in Chennai. Chess Grandmasters of every state will receive the torch. Leh, Srinagar, Jaipur, Surat, Mumbai, Bhopal, Patna, Kolkata, Gangtok, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Thrissur, Port Blair and Kanyakumari are among the 75 cities. In the 100 years of Chess Olympiad it is the very first time that India will be hosting such an event. 188 countries have registered for the upcoming event and people will witness such a huge congregation of nations on Indian soil. 

Anurag Thakur and Prime Minister’s Reaction. 

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur attended the event and thanked the Prime Minister for supporting such sporting events in the country. He said, “It is a big opportunity for India that the land where chess originated, it will be hosted in this country. I thank the PM for his endeavor and support.” “Whenever the torch relay happens it will start from India. In 1956, India participated for the first time in the Chess Olympiad and then took years to win a medal, but after that, never looked back”. 

The Prime Minister said “It is not just India’s honor but honor for chess.” Modi said chess is not just a game but has now become an educational tool.

He said, “In India wrestling, kabaddi, and Markham B were played to remain fit and for analytical skills, our forefathers invented chess. Chess traveled the whole world and became popular. Today chess has become an educational tool, chess players are becoming problem solvers”.