Mumbai, 1 July 2022
The ongoing first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay will enter Maharashtra from Daman and Diu tomorrow (on July 2), with events being organised at Nagpur, Pune and Mumbai to welcome the sacred flame. Going forward, the torch relay will take off to Goa on coming Sunday, that is July 3, 2022.
Nagpur
At Nagpur, the Chess Torch Rally will reach the city’s famous Zero Mile at around 6 am, where players, awardees and sports enthusiasts will remain present to witness the historic moment and welcome the flame.
Grand Masters Raunak Sadhwani, Divya Deshmukh and Sankalp Gupta will be present over there along with international and national level sportspersons from various disciplines. The State Chess Association and Nehru Yuva Kendra members along with district officials will also participate in the function.
A rally with the historic torch in which all sports enthusiasts will participate will then pass through Sanvidhan Chowk, All India Radio, Maharaj Bagh, Law College, Ravi Nagar Chowk, Wadi T Point, Hingana Link Road or GH Raisoni Institute of Engineering and Technology, Shraddha Park, near MIDC Police Station, Chhatrapati Square and Hingana Wadi Link Road.
The torch will then be taken to the airport at around 8 am for according it further a warm reception amongst sports enthusiasts at the next stop Maharashtra’s cultural capital Pune.
Pune
In Pune, the torch will arrive at Amanora Township in Hadapsar at around 12 noon and will be greeted with a grand reception. Grand Master Abhijit Kunte, Women Grand Master Isha Karwade, State Sports Commissioner Om Prakash Bakoria, PMRDA Commissioner Dr. Suhas Divase, Pune Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar and various office bearers of Maharashtra Chess Association will be present on the occasion. The Chess Olympiad torch will be handed over by Women Grandmaster Isha Karwade to Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte. After the event, the flame will start its road journey towards the capital city Mumbai.
Mumbai
The motorcade with the sacred flame of Chess Olympiad will pass through the Mumbai-Pune National Highway, at the end of which it will be received by Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay at Chembur. Then the torch will be taken through the Eastern Freeway to be received at South Mumbai at around 6.30 PM by sports enthusiasts of the city, Then after, passing through the iconic landmark of Gateway of India and Marine Drive starting from Trident Hotel, the sacred flame will reach Wankhede Club at around 7 PM.
The Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Devendra Fadnavis and Actor Shri Aaamir Khan will be present amongst the noted personalities at Wankhede Stadium to receive the historic torch. Grandmasters Abhijit Kunte and Soumya Swaminathan will also remain present over there.
As a part of the nationwide chess Olympiad torch relay event tomorrow, the private registered troupes of Central Bureau of Communication’s Regional Office at Pune, which is under the I & B Ministry, will perform in cultural programmes at the Amanora Club in Amanora Park town of Pune and Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on the theme of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, celebrating 75 years of India’s Independence.
The historic torch will depart from the state at Mumbai to enter its next leg of journey at Goa.
Goa
Panaji. The first ever Chess Olympiad torch relay will be welcomed in Ponda city of the Goa on Sunday. The reception ceremony of the torch will be held at Kranti Maidan. Sports Minister Shri Govind Gaude, Grand Master Anurag Mahamal will receive the torch, and then it will be taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir through a walkathon rally.
The launch of this historic torch rally was done in the presence of the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi at the IG Stadium in New Delhi. The relay will cover a total of 75 cities, commemorating the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav – 75 years of India’s independence.
On the historic launch day of the torch relay on June 19 in New Delhi, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich handed over the torch to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, who handed it over to Indian Chess legend Viswanathan Anand. Following the historic launch, the torch travelled to iconic locations including Red Fort in the national capital, the HPCA in Dharamshala, the Attari Border in Amritsar, the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow, among others.
The torch relay events start with simul chess, where Grandmasters and dignitaries play the game with local athletes. Following the events, the torch travels to the various locations via an open jeep. Besides, various cultural events take place including an interactive bus tour travelling from one city to another, a cultural parade varying from region to region which features young chess players’ community.
For the first time in the history of the prestigious competition, India not only hosts the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad but is also the first country that starts off a torch relay that has been instituted by FIDE for the first time in the history of the competition which started in 1927. From now on, every two years when the Chess Olympiad happens, the torch will go out from India to the host country.
Being the host, India is set to field 20 players – their biggest ever contingent – at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad. India is entitled to field 2 teams each in the Open and Women’s category. Over 2000 participants will be representing at the event from 188 countries, highest in the history of the Chess Olympiad. The 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad will be held in Chennai from July 28 to August 10, 2022.
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PIB Mumbai | RT/SC/DR
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