India wins bid to host 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in July 2022

After much suspense, India has won their bid to host the upcoming 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad at Chennai in July 2022.

The Chess Olympiad was originally scheduled to take place in Moscow, the capital of Russia. However, right after the Vladimir Putin-led state declared war on neighbouring Ukraine, the FIDE - which is the governing body of chess, decided to shift the venue of the biennial event from Moscow.

India rose to the occasion and made their bid to play hosts to the event and has now, finally won the chance. The chess capital of India, Chennai, the very cradle of chess in the country that produced the likes of chess legends like Vishy Anand to current prodigies like Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa will act as the host city for the event.

So far, India has only medalled once in the tournament, nearly a decade back in 2014 when the Indian men's chess team won the bronze at the Tromso edition of the Chess Olympiad.

The FIDE Chess Olympiad will attract chess players from all over 150 countries to come and play at the event, making the competition field very diverse and exciting.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, MK Stalin immediately took to Twitter as well to express his delight about having won the bid for the July event. Chennai has the experience of having hosted big-ticket events like the World Championships in 2013 as well where a fierce Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen clash had taken place, as well.