All India Chess Federation (AICF) secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan on Wednesday said that MK Stalin played a pivotal role in bringing the 44th World Olympiad to the city, adding the Chief Minister agreed to host the event after just a few minutes of discussion.
Having been moved out of Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Olympiad will be held at the ‘Four Points by Sheraton’ hotel in Mahabalipuram tentatively between July 26 and August 8. “We received the [official] letter [from the Tamil Nadu Government] in a few hours. Things are moving pretty quickly,” Chauhan said at a press conference here. “On the day we met the CM, we travelled to ECR (East Coast Road) with five or six IAS officers, looked for hotels and fixed the venue. By that evening, we had booked around 1,200 rooms. Now, we have booked nearly 3,000 rooms.” Chauhan, also the tournament director, revealed that the government would be ready to bear the expenses in case the national body fails to get enough sponsors on board. The estimated budget for the “prestigious” event is Rs 100 crore.
“The government has given us (AICF) the guarantee that it would take care if we don’t get money from anywhere. But, I am sure that we will get a lot of money. We are talking to many people [regarding sponsorships],” added Chauhan, who was accompanied by AICF president Sanjay Kapoor, TN government chief secretary V Irai Anbu and Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) member secretary R Anandakumar. Meanwhile, Kapoor said that Tamil Nadu – which he referred to as the ‘Mecca of Indian Chess’ – totally deserved to host the Olympiad. Capital city Chennai edged out Delhi and Ahmedabad after India bagged the hosting rights for the first time.
“This state has chess in its blood. Getting a tournament to a country that has never hosted it before is an achievement,” Kapoor went on to add. In a video message, Stalin said, “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to FIDE (International Chess Federation) and AICF for giving us the opportunity to host this historic event. The TN Government will help in successfully hosting the Olympiad. We are waiting to welcome participants from around the world.”
