India hands over Chess Olympiad Torch to Hungary

In a symbolic gesture, the Chess Olympiad torch was handed off by India to the 2024 host Hungary at the National Stadium here on Wednesday.

In the presence of the five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand and the strongest woman chess player of all time, Hungary’s Judit Polgar, besides officials from several embassies, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur lit the torch and passed on the flame to FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich to light his torch.

Soon, Judit and Anand, who is also the FIDE Deputy President, posed with the twin torches in a gesture that symbolised the Olympiad moving to Budapest, which is due to host the event from September 10 to 23, this year.

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It may be recalled that India hosted the Olympiad in 2022 in Mahabalipuram, and grand arrangements were hailed by one and all.

During the torch handoff ceremony, Mr. Thakur said, “Chess is an intellectual legacy that India probably offers to the world, and it is not merely a sport, but a reflection of strategic depth and philosophical wisdom. The elegant sport not only sharpens the mind but also teaches invaluable lessons of patience and resilience and takes one onto the path of intellectual pursuit of strategic mastery.”

On his part, Dvorkovich recalled his visit to India in June 2022 when he was part of the first-ever Chess Olympiad torch relay in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his idea of starting the torch relay from India before every edition of the Olympiad becoming a reality.