The first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay reached Ranchi on Thursday.
Sports Minister of Jharkhand, Hafizul Hassan received the torch at Khelgaon Sports Complex. Grandmaster Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury took the Torch forward in Ranchi in presence of eminent dignitaries.
"1st Ever #ChessOlympiadTorchRelay Update City- RANCHI: 7th July Sh.@hafizulhasan001Sports Minister of Jharkhand received the torch at Khelgaon Sports Complex. GM @SRC2010takes the Torch forward in Ranchi in presence of eminent dignitaries #India4ChessOlympiad@FIDE_chess," tweeted SAI Media.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Torch had travelled to Gaya, Rajgir, and Patna in Bihar.
Other cities that have been covered so far include Leh, Jammu, Srinagar, Dharamshala, Shimla, Chandigarh, Patiala, Amritsar, Panipat, Gurugram, Kurukshetra, Dehradun, Haridwar, Meerut, Kanpur, Kevadia, Ahmedabad, Dandi, Surat, Jaipur, Daman, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Panaji, Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jhansi.
The torch relay was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The torch will travel to 75 cities for 40 days before it culminates at Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu. Over 200 countries are participating in the Chess Olympiad. Chess grandmasters will receive the torch at various identified venues.
This year, for the very first time, the International Chess Body, FIDE, instituted the Chess Olympiad Torch which is part of the Olympic tradition but was never done in the Chess Olympiad. India is the first-ever country to have the Chess Olympiad Torch Relay.
The 44th edition of the world's biggest chess event will be held in Mahabalipuram near Chennai from July 28 to August 10.
( With inputs from ANI )
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