The grand closing ceremony of the 44th Chess Olympiad hosted by Tamil Nadu’s Chennai was held at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Tuesday, August 9.
Chennai being the host of the 44th Chess Olympiad declared the valedictory function that was held on Tuesday, August 9. Chief Minister M K Stalin, Union Ministers and State Ministers, and Chess Players were present at the function.
Tamil Nadu: A Global Destination for Sports
Presiding at the close of the ceremony, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said that there will be the implementation of several schemes in the future under the ‘Dravidian model, ‘ in order to make the state a pioneer in the sports field.
In the keynote address, Stalin also informed that:
“To identify and encourage medal winners at Olympics, Tamil Nadu government is to launch and implement the ‘Olympic Gold Quest’ program at a cost of Rs. 25 crores.”
He added that
“We will continue our efforts in making Tamil Nadu a global destination for sports. We are also focused on taking traditional sports to the global forum. All the chess players should keep coming to Chennai.”
Efforts on Sports
Setting up of Boxing Academies in Gopalapuram and North Chennai along with a suitable arena for Tamil Nadu’s traditional ‘Jallikattu’, a bull-taming sport will be implemented in near future. Steps would be taken to prioritize the participation of women and provide a special place for their practice. Besides, basic necessities are being conducted in order to host the Chennai Open Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) International Championship. The talks on conducting Asian Beach Games in Tamil Nadu have also been going on.
To the Winners and Participants
Players representing 187 countries were present at the Championship Games competing on 700 boards.
Chief Minister M K Stalin honoured the winners with medals in the open category which included India’s team B bagging the bronze medal. Arkady Dvorkovich, the President of FIDE was also present. He handed over the trophy to Uzbekistan, the winning team under the open category (men). Chess players from Chennai D. Gukesh and R. Praggnanandhaa were presented with medals on stage. Furthermore, India ‘A’ women’s side finished third in the 44th Chess Olympiad.
The first International Master, the 86-year-old Grandmaster Manuel Aaron from Chennai was felicitated by M K Stalin.
Near Future of Chess
The next edition of the FIDE Chess Olympiad will be held in Budapest in Hungary from 10 to 23 September 2024.
