Mamallapuram to host 44th Chess Olympiad in July-August

The ancient coastal town of Mamallapuram known for its magnificent architecture of the famed Pallava Kingdom will play host to the 44th Chess Olympiad from July 27 to August 10, after the international event was shifted out of Russia due to its offensive against Ukraine.

The coastal town, which had welcomed high-profile visitors in Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 2019 Indo-China informal summit, is gearing up to welcome over 2,000 chess players from 180 countries across the globe.

“The 44th Chess Olympiad will be held in Mamallapuram from July 27 to August 10. This is the first time that India will host such a prestigious event,” Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Siva. V. Meyyanathan announced on Thursday.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich also met Meyyanathan on Thursday on the eve of the signing of the agreement between the federation and India.

Tamil Nadu Government and the All India Chess Federation (AICF) are coordinating the efforts to host the biggest global chess event for the first time in India. Over 2,600 rooms, mostly sea-facing, in luxury resorts that dot the scenic East Coast Road (ECR) connecting Chennai with Mamallapuram, have been booked for the Chess Olympiad.

The event will be held at Four Points by Sheraton – a sprawling and luxurious resort on the ECR just outside Mamallapuram – while players and delegates will stay at high-end hotels like Taj Fisherman’s Cove, Sheraton Grand, Radisson, and Intercontinental among others, sources told DH.

The inauguration ceremony will be held in Mamallapuram with the Bay of Bengal as the background, Meyyanathan said, adding that the cultural prowess of India, particularly Tamil Nadu, will be on display with world-renowned artists performing at the event.

A senior government official told DH that the Chess Olympiad will be Tamil Nadu’s biggest sporting event and efforts are being taken to ensure that the tournament turns out to be the best so far.

“Mamallapuram is a scenic town with world-famous monuments like the Shore Temple. Players will get a taste of Tamil Nadu and can catch a glimpse of the Bay of Bengal from their rooms,” the official said.

As the International Chess Federation (FIDE) removed Russia as the host for the 44th Chess Olympiad in February, the AICF approached several state governments including Tamil Nadu to find out whether they are interested in holding the prestigious tournament.

Tamil Nadu, whose capital Chennai has a vibrant chess community and possesses an excellent infrastructure for such players, not just expressed interest but deputed senior bureaucrats to accompany AICF office bearers and showed sea-facing rooms at luxurious resorts, the sources added.

Mamallapuram is one of the top tourist destinations in Tamil Nadu attracting lakhs of foreign tourists every year. The magnificent Shore Temple, Arjuna’s Penance, one of the Group of Monuments declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Krishna’s Butterball, and Five Rathas are major tourist attractions in the coastal town.

The monuments will get a fresh facelift with the heritage structures likely to be illuminated using soft LED lighting.

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