India is about to host the 44th World Chess Olympiad in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in the year 2022. It's the first time that India will host a chess Olympiad. Moreover, it's the second international chess event for the country, after a long break of 9 years.
The World Championship happened back in 2013 between the legendary chess champion Vishwanathan Anand and Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.
The lineup to the event
Various eminent persons like Vishwanathan Anand, Dr.Sanjay Kapoor(AICF President), Bharat Singh Chauhan(AICF Secretary and Chairman of the FIDE Technical Commission), and others are elated by the good news for India. Dr. Sanjay Kapoor, the President of the All India Chess Federation was extremely proud of this opportunity India received and ensured the success of the event on behalf of the Indian Chess fraternity.
The AICF Secretary and Chairman of the FIDE Technical Commission, Bharat Singh Chauhan expressed his hearty gratification to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Thiru M K Stalin. He further asserted his happiness for the fact that each country in the world will now get a chance to compete in the 'Mecca of Chess'.
The big sports event will occur at Four Points by Sheraton Mahabalipuram Resort & Convention Center, Mamallapuram. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and a famous tourist site in India. The competition will take place from July 26 to August 8, 2022.
Before the announcement, a quick press conference occurred between AICF and FIDE. The latter decided to cancel Moscow as the host for the 2022 Chess Olympiad and chose Chennai.
Bharat Singh told the media that it was all in 5 minutes that we met Chief Minister M.K.Stalin, and he gave his acknowledgement. And only after a few hours, the official approval letters were released.
For the Covid-19 norms, Chauhan affirmed that given the spread of coronavirus, the venue for the event is Mahabalipuram and not any location in the city. The AICF Secretary reassured that all the protocols of the government will be strictly followed.
Also, two other Indian cities, Delhi and Ahmedabad were considered as an option for the chess event, earlier.
On the other hand, AICF has submitted a lump sum of $10 million, for hosting the event, to FIDE.
Some more insights on the World Olympiad 2022:
It is a sport which occurs between teams of various nations. Each team contains five players and one trainer. The Olympiad has eleven rounds for the category of both open and women. More than 2000 players from around 190 countries will participate this year.
This time, India will enter the tournament with three teams, in which one team will be led by its first GM Vishwanath Anand, and some young, fantastic players like Arjun Erigaise, and Nihal Sarin, and a few others.Though, the final take on the selection of the team will be taken on May 11, 2022, according to AICF rules.
For the women's section, Koneru Humpy will be at the forefront along with D Harika, and R Vaishali, as of now. For the other two places, Tania Sachdeva may enter the team while Bhakti Kulkarni and a few others also hold the possibility of joining the team for the 2022 Chess Olympiad.
As the host, India has the opportunity to participate in the event with an additional team. This team might comprise juniors or the 'B' team in both sections. However, AICF is yet to decide upon this matter on May 1, 2022.
Will Russia participate in the 44th World Chess Olympiad?
Well, FIDE has suspended Russia due to the country's invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24, 2022. Thus, the participation of Russian chess players in the World Chess Olympiad for 2022 is uncertain.
Before Chennai was confirmed for the international competition, Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk were selected as the host cities. Along with the World Chess Olympiad, other events like the Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities and the 93rd FIDE Congress have been shifted away from Russia.
Why Chennai?
Chennai is the Mecca of Indian Chess. It has continued its phenomenal chess culture from the era of the 90s. According to FIDE, Tamil Nadu holds approximately 40 percent of the total grandmasters of India out of 73.
To list a few incredible wins from the Mecca of Indian Chess, they are as follows:
Chennai witnessed its first International Master, Manuel Aaron in 1961.
In 1988, the first Grand Master of India and the remarkable chess player, Viswanathan Anand was from Chennai. And followed by him in 2001, Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi from Chennai became the first Indian Women Grandmaster.
Recently Praggnanandhaa from Chennai, the second youngest Grandmaster in the world conquered the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, in the eighth round.
In 2018 Tamil Nadu recorded more than 12 thousand registered players.
Every year, the state organises more than 200 chess competitions.
It has also been noticed that the state government encourages the government schools to teach chess for the sound cognitive development of its students and to continue its chess culture for the future.
Conclusion
The 44th World Chess Olympiad is going to be held in Chennai, India only because of the previous spectacular wins of the champions of the state. However,they didn't achieve triumph in a day and must have undergone the perfect training with immense hard work and grit.
Mind Mentorz offers a technology-based chess coaching program to develop the cognitive skills of your child and tune his mind to tackle any challenge he comes across in the game. We provide a fun learning experience to your child and ensure his excellence as well as mastery over the game.
Check out our website for more insights on our top-graded coaching programs curated to excel your child in the chess sport and start his journey of success today.