Chess Olympiad: A game of pawns

The princely game​​ of chess has taken over the collective consciousness of the city, and the State, thanks to the 44th ​​FIDE World Chess Olympiad which is taking place in Mahabalipuram. With as many as 2,500 participants and officials from 187 nations making a beeline to the seaside town for what is undoubtedly one of the biggest sporting events hosted in Tamil Nadu, the expectations are running high. Considering an event of this magnitude, the Tamil Nadu government has spared no expenses and left no stone unturned in order to make the Olympiad a grand success.

Of course, an occasion such as this is also an invitation for political parties across the board to score brownie points, whether it is in terms of brandishing the imagery of their leaders in an attempt to emphasise their contribution to the conduct of such events, or even to express their indignation on issues that have little to do with the spirit of sportsmanship or camaraderie. For instance, on Wednesday, Amar Prasad Reddy, the head of the sports and skill development cell of the BJP in Tamil Nadu, accompanied by a few of his supporters, went ahead and pasted photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the billboards of the Chess Olympiad erected in the city.

Reddy had argued that the Olympiad was arranged by the Centre, while the Tamil Nadu government was only playing host to the event. The political functionary called out the DMK for supposedly omitting a photograph of the PM from the billboards, which seems to have stuck out as a sore thumb for the BJP and its allies. Urging his supporters to follow suit with other billboards in the city, Reddy instigated a war of words on news channels. However, other parties shortly decided to respond to the BJP functionary’s incendiary actions and a few activists of the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam daubed blank ink on the picture of the PM that Reddy had pasted, to express their displeasure over the proceedings.

As the event was being held in Tamil Nadu, many considered that it was purely the prerogative of the State government to design the billboard showcasing the rulers of the State, and not those at the Centre. TN had even set aside a sum of over Rs 100 cr for the event. Having said that, the Madras High Court on Thursday instructed the State government to make sure that the photograph of not just the Prime Minister, but the President also are published in all ads pertaining to the Olympiad, that are appearing in print and electronic media. The first bench of the MHC remarked that an event of this kind, which must leave an indelible mark in the international arena, must be represented under the aegis of the President, and the PM of India, as well as the CM of the State.

Setting aside these minor grievances, the ruling party in TN has pulled out all stops to showcase the Olympiad as one of its showstopper events, stating how the State has always nurtured a deep bond with the ancient board game. DMK Minister KR Periyakaruppan even went on to call Tamil Nadu the land of chess, where royals have indulged in the cerebral pastime for millennia. Regardless of the manner in which the game of pawns unravels in the political circles, the Chess Olympiad has given the people of Tamil Nadu a reason to rejoice, and it’s being seen by citizens as one of the stepping stones for the State to host even more ambitious and high-profile sporting extravaganzas in the near future.