44th Chess Olympiad begins today in Chennai; PM Modi to inaugurate

Chennai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will declare the  the 44th International Chess Olympiad open at grand inauguration ceremony at Jawalal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Thursday.

Governor of Tamil Nadu R N Ravi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur will also grace the event among other dignitaries. 

Prime Minister had also launched the first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay at the Indira Gandhi National Stadium in New Delhi on June 19.

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The torch travelled to 75 iconic locations in the country for over a period of 40 days, traversing close to 20,000 kilometres and culminating in Mahabalipuram before it heads to the FIDE Headquarters, Switzerland.

The first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay reached Madurai, Tamil Nadu on Monday.

Superstar Rajinikanth on Thursday extended his greetings to chess players as Tamil Nadu gears up to host the 44th Chess Olympiad. The superstar said he loves Chess the most.  

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On his twitter handle, using the #ChessOlympiad2022 hashtag, the top actor said, "an indoor game I love the most wishing all the chess minds the very best...god bless."

Rajinikanth also posted an undated photograph of him playing chess and appearing in a pensive mood. The sporting event will be held in nearby Mamallapuram, about 50 km from here from July 28 to August 10.

• #Chess Olympiad
• #Chennai
• #Narendra Modi
• #MK Stalin
• #Anurag Thakur
• #Chess