Dhoni to attend Chess Olympiad closing ceremony on Tuesday

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will attend the Chief Guest for the closing ceremony of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai on Tuesday.

File picture: Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will attend the Chief Guest for the closing ceremony of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: RAGHUNATHAN SR

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will attend the Chief Guest for the closing ceremony of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai on Tuesday.

Dhoni’s association with Chennai goes back to 2008, when he was appointed the captain of the now four-time IPL champion Chennai Super Kings.

Olympiad comes to Chennai

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, chess governing body FIDE (International Chess Federation) decided the move the event from there. It was the first big-ticket chess event held in India since the 2013 World Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen. A well-connected transportation network, a handful of star hotels and the ease of ensuring various security measures are among the major factors that helped Mamallapuram emerge as the host for 44 th FIDE Chess Olympiad.

According to FIDE (the International Chess Federation, or Fédération Internationale des Échecs) as of 2022, of the 76 Grandmasters (GM) in India, 17 are from Chennai alone and of the five Indian players in the top 55 in the world, two are from Chennai.