Chess Olympiad closing ceremony: Event ends with Nat'l Anthem

Audience stand for National Anthem as the event nears end

I thank Ministry of Sports, FIDE, AICF, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vignesh Shivan & team and everyone else who contributed to the event.

Apoorva, Principal Secy to the government, presents vote of thanks

Stalin hands over the FIDE flag to Hungary, who will be hosting the 45th chess olympiad in 2024

Nona Gapringashvili award goes to India-A

Team India-A wins bronze medal under women's section.

Silver goes to Armenia and Gold to Uzbekistan under open category

I wish the next host, city of Budapest, all the best. You must all come to Chennai again, Stalin concludes

I am sure this Chess Olympiad will take the State sports development to next level, he adds.

We are taking all efforts to host Chennai Open WTA and Asian Beach Games.

Construction of an arena is under way for Jallikattu, he says.

My dear players, I am happy that you all enjoyed the stay here. I have no doubt that you all will takr home not only memories but also tradition, culture and a taste of Tamil food: Stalin

It’s our great honour for us. There is nothing comparable to the joy of hearing International players about their good times here. We allocated Rs 102 crore and 18 sub-committees were formed, the Chief Minister adds.

The chess olympiad 2022 was organised within a very short period by the Tamil Nadu government. We were all enthralled by the spectacular cultural performances, Stalin says.

Stalin begins his speech as ceremony nears end

International Chess players share their experiences in the 44th Chess Olympiad and recall good times spent in Mahabalipuram

Gukesh won 8 matches continously under the Open section. Viswanathan Anand presents the gold medal to him.

India's Nihal Sarin gets gold under Open section in board 2

R Vaishali from India gets bronze under Women's section in board 2

Praggnanandha gets bronze, Arjun Erigaisi presented silver under Open Section in board 3

Tania Sachdev from India-A team gets bronze in board 4

Divya Deshmukh from India-2 gets bronze under Women's section in board 5

Stalin is the undisputed leader of our chess history. I extend my sincere thanks to Udhayanidhi Stalin for his meticulous work. He has been our support and guide in every inch, he says.

Minister for Sports Developments begins his speech. "We have created history and thank Government of India for their support. None of these would have been possible without Chief Minister MK Stalin," he says.

Fair play award goes to Jamaican player

Today we celebrate players who won medals. We should celebrate everyone who participated in the event. We learnt how to fight, how to respect and how to move forward: Arkady Dvorkovich

Best women uniform under women's section goes to Uganda.

Best men uniform goes to open section to Mongolia and Uzbekistan

The most stylish team award goes to Denmark

When I won my own chess title, many of my own teammates were not even born, he says.

From Napiers Bridge to Aavin milk packets, Chess was everywhere. I would like to thank Chief Minister Stalin who worked for such well-organised event. This is the most talked about event, thanks to tournament director, says Chennai's own Viswanathan Anand

Stalin presents mementos to Meyyanathan, A Raja, Irai Anbu, Udhayanidhi Stalin

Stalin felicitates Tamil Nadu's first grandmaster Manuel Aaron

AICF President: I salute the people of Chennai and Tamil Nadu for the unconditional love. And, of course for the wonderful food!

We got all we requested. All thanks to Chief Minister Stalin, Kapoor adds.

It is a matter of immersive pride as our country is celebrating the 75th Independence. India hosted this for the first time since its inception for over 100 yrs: Sanjay Kapoor, President of All India Chess Federation

We will continue to take the game higher and higher. Stalin has emerged as a saviour of Chess, he adds

It was a memorable and historic event. We hosted 2,000 chess players from 183 counties. This was India’s and Asia’s biggest Chess festival, Chauhan says

Bharat Singh Chauhan, Director of 44th Chess Olympiad, presents the tournament report

FIDE President presents certificate of appreciation to Stalin

Sports Development Minister V Meyyanathan felicitates Chief Minister MK Stalin.

We thank the Chess Olympiad for turning world’s gaze on to Tamil Nadu. We thank the Union Sport Ministry and FIDE president who helped us host this event. We thank Viswanathan Anand for mentoring the candidates and motivating them, he concludes.

One day, Chess would be made compulsory for school students in Tamil Nadu just like Armenia, he continues.

Results say Chess improves memory and elevates creativity. Our pride our Tamil Nadu has written his autobiography, Mind Master, which teaches us how to solve problems, the Chief Secy says.

Concentration is artificial but attention is natural. Chess can make a person immensely attentive. We can learn how to solve problems and get ready for invisible problems. All battles are first fought in our minds, he adds.

“Wish you all a pleasant and colourful evening. It’s more of a chess carnival more than a competition. In a competition, there are winners and losers. But, here all we have are winners. They was jubilation, joy, bliss and love experienced by everyone,” Irai Anbu says

Chief Secy V Irai Anbu begins his welcome address

From Jallikattu to Chess: Next comes a dance performance about the evolution of sports in the State by TN artistes

To celebrate the glorious 75th Independence Day, an artiste plays Bharathiyar songs and Vande Mataram in her piano mid-air

Stalin plays drums along with Sivamani and Arkady Dvorkovich

All four perform Semmozhiyaana Tamizh Mozhiyaam written by Kalaignar Karunanidhi

Heartbeats of India: Drums Sivamani, Stephen Devassy, Naveen Kumar and Rajesh Vaidya perform

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, Viswanathan Anand, Sports Minister V Meyyanathan and Chief Minister M K Stalin share the dias

Chief Minister M K Stalin arrives at the venue for the closing ceremony

(L) Ministers Duraimurugan, Ponmudy, Palanivel Thiagarajan, Anbil Mahesh, Ma Subramanian, K N Nehru, Senthil Balaji take part in the ceremony

Dhoni unlikely to attend the event, says sources

Around 600 artistes to perform at the ceremony today