CM Stalin honours Gukesh at event, announces 'Home of Chess' to nurture more GMs
Addressing the gathering that included SDAT players from various sports, the Chief Minister said the felicitation should motivate everyone aspiring to excel in sports that they, too, could be on such a stage one day.
Chief Minister MK Stalin felicitating World Chess Champion Gukesh during the ceremony (Hemanathan)
CHENNAI: The State government would set up ‘Home of Chess’, a special chess academy to help foster more grandmasters in Tamil Nadu, announced Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday. Famously dubbed the 'chess factory' of the country, this initiative will help elevate the game of chess even more in the State.
The Chief Minister was speaking at a special felicitation programme organised in Chennai by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) to celebrate one of its elite sportspersons, D Gukesh, the newly crowned world chess champion.
“Inspired by Gukesh's victory and backed by the excellent coaching that will be provided in this facility, I believe the number of grandmasters from Tamil Nadu will increase drastically,” Stalin said about the ‘Home of Chess’.
Stalin recalled how Chennai hosted a grand felicitation for Grandmaster (GM) Viswanathan Anand, who had just won India its first-ever Chess World Championship in 2000. More than two decades later, Tamil Nadu now boasts two world champions – Anand and Gukesh - and 31 grandmasters, out of the total of 85 in the country.
Addressing the gathering that included SDAT players from various sports, the Chief Minister said the felicitation should motivate everyone aspiring to excel in sports that they, too, could be on such a stage one day.
Gukesh became the youngest World Chess Champion after defeating China's Ding Liren in the final event in Singapore earlier this week. Reflecting on his journey to the World Championship, he recalled how it all began here in Chennai, at the Chennai Grand Masters in 2023.
He thanked the State for organising a major international tournament, where the circuit points he earned ultimately helped him qualify for the Candidates event earlier this year.