As the 44th edition of the Chess Olympiad is all set to start on Thursday, superstar Rajinikanth wished all the participants good luck.
Taking to Twitter, Rajinikanth shared a throwback picture of him playing chess.
"#ChessOlympiad2022 An indoor game I love the most ... wishing all the chess minds the very best .. god bless," he captioned the post.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will declare the 44th Chess Olympiad open at the grand inauguration programme being organised at JLN Indoor Stadium, Chennai on Thursday. Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur will also grace the event.
Prime Minister also launched the first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay at the Indira Gandhi National Stadium in New Delhi on June 19.
The torch travelled to 75 iconic locations in the country for over a period of 40 days, traversing close to 20,000 kilometres and culminating in Mahabalipuram before it heads to the FIDE Headquarters, Switzerland.
The first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay reached Madurai, Tamil Nadu on Monday. The torch was received and carried by Grandmaster J Deepan Chakkravarthy and was presented to medal winners in various sports at the race course ground.
The Chess Olympiad 2022 is being held at the Four Points by Sheraton Mahabalipuram Resort and Convention Centre in Mahabalipuram. The Chess Olympiad was initially scheduled to be held in Russia and was moved to Chennai after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The upcoming edition will witness a record 188 teams in the Open section and 162 in the women's category.
The 44th Chess Olympiad will run till August 10.
( With inputs from ANI )
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