This year, India has been honoured to hold the World Chess Olympiad. The historic city of Chennai, the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, has been selected to host the prestigious event. Recent estimates suggest that over 2000 chess players worldwide will participate in this contest.
The World Chess Olympiad is the world’s biggest chess tournament, and for Chennai, with its cosmopolitan character, it is a privilege to showcase as one of the most chess-loving cities in the world.
The World Chess Olympiad is approaching its 100th year, as the first edition was organised by the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) in 1924 in Paris, France. With two years remaining for the global event to touch a hundred years, all eyes of the world are turned toward the city of Chennai to see how it delivers.
The Government of Tamil Nadu is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the Olympiad 2022 is a grand success. To this end, it has already turned one of the city’s iconic landmarks into a showcase piece.
The Napier Bridge, one of the great architectural structures that adorn Chennai, has been completely transformed. It now looks like a chessboard, having been given a fresh coat of colours. The city’s municipal corporation has even installed chess equipment on the bridge to attract local and international admirers.
To the people of Chennai, the Napier Bridge stands as one of the most revered historic structures. The administration has hit the right chord with the people by giving the bridge a complete makeover. No wonder as soon as the news of the bridge’s painting became viral, locals started pouring in to glimpse the city’s beloved bridge in its fresh new white and black colours.
The news about the Napier Bridge’s repainting in the style of white and black chess squares was first made public by the Additional Chief Secretary (Environment, Climate Change, and Forests), Government of Tamil Nadu, Ms. Supriya Sahu. She posted a video and a comment on her Twitter account stating, “Chennai, the Chess Capital of India, is all set to host the grand Chess Olympiad 2022. The iconic Napier Bridge is decked up like a Chess Board.”
In this digital age, it took no time for the news to spread like wildfire. Soon, thousands of netizens started posting comments on the topic, and very quickly, the whole of India became aware of the happenings in Chennai.
To make matters even better for the mega event, Tamil Nadu movie industry legend Mr. Rajnikanth also posted a video of the redefined Napier Bridge in all its newfound glory with the caption – “#chesschennai2022.” Mr. Rajnikanth went the extra mile by setting a musical score by another of Chennai’s favourite sons, the musician A.R. Rahman, to the video he posted along with the caption.
The people of Tamil Nadu are taking the 2022 World Chess Olympiad very seriously, and they want to see this event reach the heights that it is already promising. With chess being a hugely popular sport in Chennai, the Government of India is also accepting the ground situation and extending full support to the local administration to make this occasion a success.
