PM Narendra Modi will launch the first-ever Torch Relay ahead of the 44th Chess Olympiad on June 19th, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur revealed on social media.
The torch will travel across 75 locations in India. It is scheduled to start from New Delhi and will end at Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, the venue of the Chess Olympiad, Thakur tweeted.
The 44th Chess Olympiad is all set to hit the record books as the highest number of countries and teams have registered for the world’s biggest chess event scheduled in Chennai from July 28 to August 10.
Historic event
The historic event, which will be conducted in India for the first-time ever, has so far attracted entries of 343 teams in the open and women’s section from 187 countries from all over the globe.
A beaming Bharat Singh Chauhan, Secretary of All India Chess Federation (AICF) and the Event Director, announced, “We have a record-breaking 187 countries registered with 189 teams in the open section and 154 in the women’s section. This is indeed a proud moment for all of us, especially it being the first offline event since the pandemic started.”
Previously, the Batumi Olympiad, held in 2018, had set a record with 184 and 150 teams in the open and women’s sections respectively from 179 countries.
Magnus Carlsen to participate
The icing on the cake is the confirmed participation of reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway—the highest ever rated player on the planet. India, as the host country, is eligible to field an extra team in both sections and has an opportunity to field a third team in case of odd number of entries.
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