Chess Olympiad: Moves India made to play host
The mega event, a first for the country, will see 2,000-plus players from over 185 nations
On the train back home after the Nationals in Kanpur in February, All India Chess Federation’s (AICF’S) Bharat Singh Chauhan, satisfied at the high quality competition he'd seen the past few days, decided to take a punt. The Nationals were proof that Indian chess was world-class. Feeling particularly upbeat, he sent the International Chess Federation (FIDE) President Arkady Dvorkovich a text saying India was open to hosting international events in the future.
Dvorkovich’s reply caught him by surprise. It simply read: “Chess Olympiad?” Thrown off completely — because the Olympiad was already scheduled to be held in Moscow — Chauhan asked him what he meant. Without committing much, Dvorkovich said things were developing.
“The Olympiad is a hugely prestigious event,” Chauhan says, sitting in his office in Delhi. “There is a long line of countries that bid for it and in its long history, it has been awarded to Asia only twice before (Dubai in 1986 and the Philippines in 1992). It requires a lot of lobbying.” India, Chauhan says was lining up a bid for the 2026 edition, but “work for that was a while away”.
Within two days of that exchange, with the Russia-ukraine conflict already under way, FIDE stripped Moscow of its hosting rights. A day after that, Chauhan texted Dvorkovich again. This time the message was simple and clear: “India is ready.”
With the ball rolling fast and hard, the AICF machine went into overdrive. Organising, bidding for and being awarded an international event is not just a matter of administration but also financing and logistics. The first thing AICF needed to do was find someone to help them submit the guarantee money — $10 million — to FIDE, signalling their seriousness for the bid. It helped that there weren’t too many others so keen to apply for an event they’d have to conduct in a matter of months.
“Obviously there were a lot of immediate concerns,” says Chauhan, now the 44th Chess Olympiad tournament director. “I had put the money where my mouth was (the Tamil Nadu government immediately offered the federation the guarantee money), but now the headache of logistics
began. First, where would we conduct it? Did that city have the infrastructure to deal with so many participants?”
A biennial event, the Chess Olympiad began as a response to chess’ exclusion from the Olympics in 1924. Despite the global sports extravaganza never embracing chess into its programme since, the Olympiad has only grown in size and stature, rivalling, in pure participation numbers at least, the Olympics itself.
India, which will host the event in Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu from July 28 to August 10, will see a record 343 teams from 187 countries take part in the event.
“I can confidently say that India has never hosted an event of this scale, with over 2,000 competitors turning up from so many countries,” Chauhan bullishly says.
With great numbers, though, comes great responsibility. After being awarded the event, the AICF narrowed its host venue options to two cities: Delhi and Mahabalipuram. Delhi, the headquarters of the federation, had many advantages, chief among them the ability to house this volume of participants in a single area. But Chennai and Mahabalipuram offered something more.
“The Tamil Nadu government’s eager support was a crucial factor in us selecting it as a venue. And, of course, the state itself has a vibrant chess culture,” Chauhan says.
The state and central ministries have allocated approximately ~100 crore for the event, where India will put out its largest contingent — 20 players.
Arjun Erigaisi, part of the India A team for the Olympiad, is one of 73 grandmasters currently in India. He says the event will shine a light on local talent and hopefully some economic gains will follow. Erigaisi, 18, is the fourth-highest ranked Indian after Viswanathan Anand, Vidit Gujrathi and Harikrishna Pentala. Taking a one-week break at his hometown Warangal, Erigaisi says he’s excited: “Our performances over the last two editions (India won gold and bronze in the 2020 and 2021 online Chess Olympiads, respectively) have meant there will be renewed focus on us.”
Chauhan hopes an event of this stature will further boost grassroots chess. “Currently, AICF holds tournaments in 583 districts in the country. We hold tournaments starting from Under 7 — something no federation does — and go up to the seniors.”
When MPL Sports signed a ~1-crore deal for title sponsorship for the Nationals with the federation in 2019, it was a huge injection of funds into the sport. Prize money at the Nationals spiked up and more events were added to the calendar.
In addition, AICF decided that host states could keep 75 per cent of entry fee collection for themselves. A successful Olympiad will lead to more money flowing in.
But not all is rosy. On Thursday, the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court stayed Chauhan’s election as secretary till its next hearing, owing to his inability to secure the required number of votes (twothird majority) in the AICF elections held on January 4, 2021. Chauhan’s role as tournament director of the Olympiad is reportedly not under threat.
In the meantime, preparations for India’s biggest foray into international chess continue. Players, organisers and sponsors all are rushing to put together an event that takes years of planning, in a few months.