Suspense over India hosting the Chess Olympiad continues

It is learnt, the FIDE at its meeting on March 15 is expected to decide on the Olympiad venue.Apart from India, it is rumoured that FIDE has received one or two more bids for hosting the event.The Chess Olympiad is a biennial team event in which teams from approximately 190 countries compete for two weeks.”Around 2,500 persons — chess players, coaches, team managers, chess officials from different countries, journalists and others — will arrive at the city where the Chess Olympiad is held,” British Grandmaster and FIDE vice-president Nigel Short said.Even before getting the actual mandate to hold the mega global chess event, the AICF officials, it is learnt, had checked out the facilities available in Delhi and Chennai, such as hotels, transport as well as the unwinding options for the players.”At least 50 Grandmasters and several International Masters are ready to volunteer to help AICF hold the prestigious event. That apart, there are software companies that would extend the necessary software programming support,” a senior AICF official told IANS.India has the experience of holding the Commonwealth Chess Championship several times, though the Olympiad will be a couple of times bigger.If the event is to be hosted in Delhi then the Aerocity could be a suitable venue.



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