44th Chess Olympiad: Exclusive immigration counters, exit for players

CHENNAI: The Chennai International Airport, on Tuesday, has been bustling with activity as the chess players started arriving to take part in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram. At the entrance of Terminal- 3 stood Volvo buses sporting the Chess Olympiad logo as Special Officer Darez Ahmed reviewed the arrangements along with Chennai airport director Dr Sharad Kumar.

Separate immigration counters have been put up for the players. Similarly, customs and exit are also separate for the players. Grandmaster Tejas Bakre, who is overseeing the arrangements made for the chess players, said around 100 players came on Tuesday.

We are expecting around 2,200 players and the figures may go up. We have arranged around 50 volunteers. Then we have Tamil Nadu government protocol officers and police personnel. The players will be housed in around 33 hotels in and around Mahabalipuram and in Chennai.

Rejecting media reports that the arrangements are not adequate, he said there has been proper coordination with all the departments. Kumar said arrivals have been secured. “We are expecting 1,600 people tomorrow morning and around 600 on the day after,” he said.

He added that the government has made enough arrangements for buses. Participants have exclusive passage. They are not mingling with anybody. During their departure on August 9 and 10, exclusive arrangements will be made,” Kumar said.

He said there has been a shortage of manpower in immigration counters. “We have 65 counters and we don’t have enough staff. We are pursuing the issue with the Bureau of Immigration. However, for the Olympiad, we have dedicated counters,” he says.