AR Rahman has composed the anthem for the 44th Chess Olympiad to be held in Chennai. (Screengrab)AR Rahman has composed an anthem for International Chess Olympiad, 2022, set to be held in Chennai from July 28.
The Oscar and Grammy-winning music composer can be seen doing a tiny jig in the video. The video shows the composer singing and swinging to the jingle beats created by him as he walks on the famous Napier bridge constructed over the Cooum river. The bridge which connects Madras University and Island Grounds has been painted thematically like a Chess board.
The music video also features Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
While the clip begins with ‘Welcome to Namma Ooru Chennai’, the words ‘Varuga Varuga Tamizhnattukuu Varuga’ (Warm Welcome to Tamil Nadu) are interspersed and also ends with such words.
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The FIDE has organised the first Official Olympiad in 1927 which took place in London. This is also the third time that an Asian country is hosting the event after Dubai and Manila. Originally, Russia was supposed to host the event but due to ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, it was shifted to India.
Russia was supposed to be the host of the Olympiad in Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk from July 26 to August 8, however, FIDE decided to open bidding for the event after Kremlin’s military operations against Ukraine.
This would mark as the second major world event to be held in India after the World Championship match in 2013 which marked a memorable match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen. In the World Championship 2013, Magnus Carlsen was first crowned World Champion, defeating Vishwanathan Anand.
The games will be held in the UNESCO Heritage town Mamallapuram, nearly 50kms away from Chennai. The tournament will go on till August 10 and is expected to attract more than 2,000 visitors from 180 countries.
The 2020 and 2021 Chess Olympiads were held online because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected the player’s online ratings.
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