The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which multiple nations compete against each other. The International Chess Federation (FIDE)  organizes the tournament and selects a host nation but for the past two years, the competition took place online due to COVID-19. This year, India will be hosting the event for the very first time in their history and have announced ‘Thambi’ as the official mascot. When is 44th Chess Olympiad? Check Schedule and Time in IST of 2022 FIDE Event in Chennai.

The 44th Chess Olympiad will be held in Chennai, India, the birthplace of the game. The country will host the event for the first time in history from July 28 to August 10. It is expected to be the biggest ever Chess Olympiad With a total of 187 countries, and 343 teams taking part in the event. 189 teams in the open section and 154 teams in the women's section have been registered by all the nations. R Praggnanandhaa Meets Rajnikanth Ahead of 44th Chess Olympiad.

M.K. Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, announced on June 9, 2022, that a brown horse named ‘Thambi’ will be the official mascot of the 44th edition of the competition. Thambi means “brother” in the native language, a phrase that is commonly used to address someone.

Chess Olympiad 2022 Mascot

Thambi is dressed in a white shirt and dhoti, with its hands joined and is seen welcoming the visitors. The horse is the knight in the chess game and was created to highlight the connection between Chess and Tamil Nadu.

The International Chess Federation, FIDE, was formed in Paris, in July 1924, after the first unofficial Chess Olympiad. Then in July 1927, the first official Chess Olympiad was organized by the organization which was held in London, England, and 16 nations took part in this event.

The 44th edition of the Chess Olympiad will be its biggest to date and will be taking palace in India. This will be a great opportunity for the hosts to triumph over the big names in the game such as Russia, USA and Hungary as the likes of R. Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi will be representing the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 26, 2022 12:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).