Amidst the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) removed Russia from being the host of the prestigious Chess Olympiad in the last week of February.
Soon, FIDE, which was looking for a new host country, received a message from India saying that the country is ready to host any chess event.
Bharat Singh Chauhan, the secreatary of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) had pinged FIDE’s Rresident Arkady Dvorkovich to which the latter responded saying if an ‘Olympiad’ would do.
Immediately, Bharat Singh started moving things to leave to get the opportunity for India. In less than a week since he spoke to Dvorkovich, India’s bid to host the Chess Olympiad was ready. This would be the first time that the country has got the opportunity to host the event.
Mr. Bharat Singh left no stone unturned. Former world champion Viswanathan Anand wrote to FIDE backing India’s bid.
But to secure the bid, a lot needed to be put in place. The place for the event, accommodations for players coming from other countries, and so on. There was also a guarantee of $10 million (around ₹76 crore) that needed to be given.
Bharat Singh had shortlisted three locations – Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu – and had been in touch with the state governments there.
However, the proactiveness of the Tamil Nadu government along with its geographic location and strong chess culture tipped the scales in the state’s favour.
Bharat Singh’s friend Srinath Narayanan who is a Grandmaster and coach set up a meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in Chennai. CM Stalin immediately furnished the financial guarantee the same day.
As soon as the Tamil Nadu government came on board, Bharat Singh went scouting for rooms and venues on the East Coast Road along wiith five to six IAS officers.
Within a day around 2,000 rooms in 23 hotels were booked of which about 1200 are sea-facing. A temporary secretariat has been set up in Mahabalipuram. A channel of communication has been opened with players around the world. Translators in four languages have been appointed for coordination.
So in a matter of 2-3 days, a financial guarantee of ₹76 crore, accommodation for players and the venue of the event was a done deal.
Meanwhile, pictures and videos of the hotels with sea-sided views, along with a proper submission of a bid impressed FIDE.
There were few other countries bidding to host but only India managed to submit a proper bid, thanks to the proactiveness of the state administration.
India getting a chance to host the Chess Olympiad gains even more significance with the country boasting of young prodigies putting a challenge even to world champions.
The Chess Olympiad is slated to take place between the end of July and the beginning of August.
Chennai had hosted the World Championship Match in 2013.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
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