Chess Olympiad: Organisers hold mock drill in Chennai to test preparedness

Chennai, Jul 24: Chess fever is slowly gripping Chennai as the city gears up for the highly-anticipated 44th Chess Olympiad 2022. The tournament is just four days away.

As the countdown for the chess extravaganza continues, a test event was held on Sunday (July 24) to assess the preparedness for the tournament. A few thousand people took part in an Olympiad special run organised in the city to create a buzz around the multi-nation tournament, starting July 28.

State Ministers including Ma Subramanian, TM Anbarasan and PK Sekar Babu among others were present at the event. As many as 1,414 players took part in the test tournament held in various age categories. The organisers claimed that the test event was an attempt to enter the Noble Book of World Records.

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"We are going to organise a mock drill on 24th July at the same venue to check our preparedness. 1414 players will participate in the mock drill and we've made arrangements for the live streaming of those games as well. So, whatever hiccups we'll encounter (during the mock drill) could be resolved within the next couple of days," All India Chess Federation Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan informed MyKhel earlier this week.

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The chess Olympiad is being held in India for the first time and the tournament will be held at nearby Mamallapuram. Players from over 180 countries will be participating in the Olympiad with three Indian teams each in the Open and women's sections. 'Thambi', the mascot of the marquee event, can be seen at various places in the city while the iconic Napier Bridge has been painted in black and white colours to resemble a chess board.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the event at the Nehru Indoor Stadium here on July 28 in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin while the matches will begin on July 29 and conclude on August 10.

The Tamil Nadu government is leaving no stone unturned in the efforts to make the Olympiad a huge success. Chief Minister Stalin himself has been at the forefront, supervising the arrangements and visiting the venue to inspect the preparations.

(With PTI inputs)