Shillong, July 10: The first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay reached the city of Shillong on Sunday.
Grand Master Mitrabha Guha received the torch in presence of eminent dignitaries.
“1st Ever #ChessOlympiadTorchRelay Update City- SHILLONG: 10th July GM Mitrabha Guha takes the Torch forward at SAI STC, Shillong in presence of eminent dignitaries,” tweeted SAI Media.
Earlier, the torch reached Gangtok on Friday.
Kunga Nima Lepcha, Minister of Sports, Govt Of Sikkim received the torch at Sikkim Manipal University. GM Mitrabu Guha took the Torch forward in Gangtok in presence of eminent dignitaries.
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 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. (ANI)
