The first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay arrived in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
Marking a glorious moment for chess in India and Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik handed over the torch to Women Grandmaster Padmini Rout at a function at Convention Centre in Loka Seva Bhawan.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said, “It’s a proud moment for India as it is hosting an international sports event like Chess Olympiad on the 75th year of independence. Chess originated in India and was known as Chaturang.”

Women Grandmaster Kiran Manisha Mohanty brought the relay torch to Loka Seva Bhawan and handed it over to Chief Patron of AOCA Dr Achyuta Samant.
The Chief Minister received the torch from Dr Samant. Both Kiran and Padmini are celebrated international chess players from Odisha.

As many as 6 players from Odisha including Padmini Rout will participate in Chess Olympiad to be held in Chennai.

“Odisha has been producing good results in Chess. Some of our players have done exceedingly well at national and international events. We have also organized the World Junior Chess championship in 2016,” said the Chief Minister.

“We intend to further strengthen the game across the state, especially in Schools. This is a game which can easily be spread as not much infrastructure or equipment is required. We will create competitions at school and college levels regularly and promote the game in a professional manner,” he added.

Extending his best wishes to the All India Chess Federation, All Odisha Chess Federation, Government of India and Government of Tamil Nadu for organizing this grand event, the CM said that probably for the first time in India representatives from around 200 countries will participate in a sports event.

The other cities that have been covered by torch relay so far include Agartala, Namsai, Dibrugarh, Itanagar, Leh, Jammu, Srinagar, Dharamshala, Shimla, Chandigarh, Patiala, Amritsar, Panipat, Gurugram, Kurukshetra, Dehradun, Haridwar, Meerut, Kanpur, Kevadia, Ahmedabad, Dandi, Surat, Jaipur, Daman, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Panaji, Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jhansi, Gangtok, Siliguri, Kohima, Gangtok, Shillong, Guwahati and Siliguri.

The torch relay was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The torch began its relay from Leh.

The torch will travel to 75 cities for 40 days before it culminates at Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu. Over 200 countries are participating in the Chess Olympiad. Chess grandmasters will receive the torch at various identified venues.

The 44th edition of the world’s biggest chess event will be held in Mahabalipuram near Chennai from July 28 to August 10.

(Inputs from ANI)