How a Unesco heritage site in India’s Tamil Nadu state captured Chess Olympiad hosting rights

Excitement in Tamil Nadu reaches fever pitch, as the town is decked out like a chess board for the world tournament and players are greeted like rock stars

India made preparations to welcome 1,800 players from 186 countries in just 4 months after one man seized the opportunity and galvanised the country into action

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Students dress up as chess pieces to celebrate the Olympiad taking place in Chennai. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:30am, 3 Aug 2022Updated: 9:34am, 3 Aug 2022

Chess fever has swept the coastal town of Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu, as India hosts the 44th Olympiad for the first time.

It seems like every bit of the city is decked out in black and white. You could, in theory, play chess on a bridge, road, or against any wall or pillar. The Olympiad mascot Thambi – a horse styled on the knight chess piece – is everywhere.

A torch relay was taken to towns across India before reaching Chennai, Tamil Nadu’s state capital, in time for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the event.

The Oscar-winning music composer for Bollywood films, A.R. Rahman, even created an anthem for the tournament.

“I have never seen the city so excited about chess,” Indian grandmaster and former five-times world champion Viswanathan Anand told local reporters.

A bridge in Chennai painted as a chessboard for the Olympiad being held from July 28 to August 10. Photo: AFP

Bharat Singh Chouhan, secretary of the All India Chess Federation, seized the chance. “India is open to organising any chess event,” he wrote to FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich.

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