GG News Bureau
Gandhinagar, 30th June. The ongoing first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay will continue in Gujarat on Friday, July 1, with events in Surat and Dandi. The torch will then enter Daman and Diu from there.
The torch relay entered Gujarat from Rajasthan on Thursday, with events taking place in Ahmedabad, Kevadia, and Vadodara.
While Harsh Sanghavi, Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture, Gujarat government, was the chief guest at the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, Purnesh Modi, Geetaben Rathwa – MP, Gujarat government, was the chief guest at the Statue of Unity in Kevadia.
The chief guest at the torch relay event at Vaghodia Sports Complex in Vadodara was Rajendra Trivedi, Minister of Revenue for the Government of Gujarat. Apart from the aforementioned VIPs, Chess Grandmasters Tejas Bakre and Ankit Rajpara were also present and led the Chess Olympiad torch relay.
The two Grandmasters will also be present for the events on Friday. The events will take place at the Surat Municipal Corporation indoor stadium, the Gandhi Ashram in Dandi, and the Swami Vivekananda auditorium in Daman. Praful Khoda Patel, Lieutenant Governor of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, will continue to be the chief guest in Daman.
The launch of this historic torch rally was done in the presence of the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi at the IG Stadium in New Delhi.
The relay will cover a total of 75 cities, commemorating the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav – 75 years of India’s independence.
On the historic launch day of the torch relay on June 19 in New Delhi, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich handed over the torch to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, who handed it over to Indian Chess legend Viswanathan Anand.
Following the historic launch, the torch travelled to iconic locations including Red Fort in the national capital, the HPCA in Dharamshala, the Attari Border in Amritsar, the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow, among others.
The torch relay events start with simul chess, where Grandmasters and dignitaries play the game with local athletes.
Following the events, the torch travels to the various locations via an open jeep. Besides, various cultural events take place including an interactive bus tour travelling from one city to another, a cultural parade varying from region to region which features young chess players’ community.
For the first time in the history of the prestigious competition, India not only hosts the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad but is also the first country that starts off a torch relay that has been instituted by FIDE for the first time in the history of the competition which started in 1927.
From now on, every two years when the Chess Olympiad happens, the torch will go out from India to the host country.
Being the host, India is set to field 20 players – their biggest ever contingent – at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad. India is entitled to field 2 teams each in the Open and Women’s category.
Over 2000 participants will be representing the event from 188 countries, highest in the history of the Chess Olympiad. The 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad will be held in Chennai from July 28 to August 10, 2022.
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