The Tamil Nadu government has sanctioned ₹92 crore for the 44th Chess Olympiad, the world’s biggest chess event, to be hosted by the State from July 28 to August 10 in Chennai, said Chief Minister MK Stalin. He was speaking at the Sportstar’s South Sports Conclave in Chennai on Tuesday.

For Tamil Nadu, it is a great pride to be the host in which over 200 countries and nearly 1,000 players will participate. For the first time, India is hosting the event and Tamil Nadu grabbed the opportunity to host the prestigious event, he said.

Originally, Russia was to host the event. However, due to the war in Ukraine, FIDE decided to drop Russia. Many countries tried to host the tournament. However, Tamil Nadu in association with the All India Chess Federation successfully brought the tournament to India “We took quick decisions and did all the necessary work expeditiously and we got the rights to host the tournament,” he said.

The word 'development' has a broad meaning. One of the most important areas of development is in the field of sports, and Tamil Nadu is moving forward today in sports as well, he said.

A few weeks ago, Stalin released the logo for the 44th Chess Olympiad. A horse was designed and looked like a 'knight' in the game of chess and it looked like a salutation. According to the Tamil tradition, it is wearing a dhoti-shirt and named 'Thambi (brother),’ he said.

At a time when such a 'countdown' for the Chess Olympiad has begun, it is very fitting that this conclave is taking place. “I sincerely congratulate The Hindu group for choosing the right time and would like to express my gratitude for that,” he said.

This field of sports is a classy field. The Government of Tamil Nadu is taking a number of initiatives in the field of sports.

A starting point to realise dreams

Stalin said he hoped that the conclave will encourage all sports and sportspersons in Tamil Nadu and give the government suggestions and ideas on how to encourage school and college students to pursue sports and how to host mega events.

“We have a lot of dreams in the field of sports and to realise these dreams, we have to find ways and I hope this conclave will be a good starting point for that as well,” Stalin said.

Malini Parthasarathy, Chairperson, THG Publishing Pvt Ltd, said the objective of organising these conversations is to help the widely expressed national goal to make India a front ranking sporting nation by improving the existing sport infrastructure, intensifying opportunities for training and building key skills that enable grassroot sports to flourish in our streets and fields.

“We are proud to start our first dialogue here in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, our home state where our Chief Minister is expressing keen interest in developing sports and building youth skills in this regard,” she said.

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