A lifetime opportunity for youngsters, says Viswanathan Anand as 100-day countdown for Chess Olympiad gets underway

Chennai: The 100-day countdown for the 44th Chess Olympiad, to be held in Chennai later this year, began on Monday with the legendary Viswanathan Anand terming the tournament a life-time opportunity for youngsters to catch a glimpse of their idols.

"It is a lifetime opportunity for youngsters to get a glimpse of their idols, watch them play and possibly interact with them," said India's first-ever Grandmaster Anand in a press release.

The Olympiad will be held from 28 July to 10 August.

"The Countdown to the #ChessOlympiad2022 begins! #100daystogo and to mark the occasion find me on livestream looking at some games of the past Chess Olympiads," Anand said in a tweet.

Several other players including women's star D Harika and noted coach RB Ramesh tweeted about the countdown.

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"And the countdown begins. Just 100 more days to go for the grand #FIDECHESSOLYMPIAD2022 to take place in India," Harika said.

Meanwhile, All India Chess Federation (AICF) secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan said, "We are sparing no effort to ensure that this Olympiad will be the best ever and hope that people will be talking about it for the next 100 years."

Several Grandmasters and national champions from more than 150 countries will be participating in the Chess Olympiad.

Hundreds of district-level players from Tamil Nadu have already put in their requests to witness the games live and soon the fever will catch up in the whole country, the release said.

The Olympiad was originally scheduled to be hosted by Russia between 26 July and 8 August in Moscow but was moved out following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February.

Subsequently, FIDE (world chess body) allotted the championship to Chennai.

The last chess event of such stature to come to India was the 2013 World Championship clash between Anand and Magnus Carlsen, the current world No 1.

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