Tamil Nadu will host the World Chess Championship here from November 6 to 26, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced in the state assembly today.
The government would release Rs 29 crore to conduct the championship, being held for the first time in India, she said while making a suo moto statement on the floor of the assembly.
Last year, the government wanted to host the event, but Russia won it its bid and staged the event, she said.
Jayalalithaa recalled that World Chess Federation President Kirsan Illyumzhinov had met her in 2011 with the proposal to hold the event in Chennai.
This year, the Federation allotted the event to Tamil Nadu without going through the bidding process, she said.
Five time world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand and Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, ranked number one are among the top players who would be participating in the championship.