Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the historic torch relay for the 44th Chess Olympiad tomorrow at 5 PM at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi. The Prime Minister will also address the gathering on the occasion.

This year, for the very first time, the International Chess Body, FIDE, has instituted the Chess Olympiad Torch that is part of Olympic tradition, but was never done in the Chess Olympiad. India will be the first-ever country to have the Chess Olympiad Torch Relay. Notably, taking the Indian roots of Chess to a greater height, this tradition of Torch Relay for the Chess Olympiad will henceforth always begin in India and travel across all continents before reaching the host country.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich will hand over the torch to Prime Minister Modi, who in turn will hand it over to Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand. This torch will then be taken to 75 cities in a span of 40 days before the final culmination at Mahabalipuram near Chennai. At every location, chess grandmasters of the state will receive the torch.

The 44th Chess Olympiad will be held in Chennai from 28th of July to 10th of August this year. The prestigious competition, which is being organised since 1927, is being hosted in India for the first time and in Asia after 30 years. With 189 countries participating, this will be the largest participation in any Chess Olympiad.