44th Chess Olympiad to be held in Chennai from July 28 to Aug 10

The 44th Chess Olympiad will be held in Chennai from July 28 to August 10, the game's world governing body FIDE said.

The 44th Chess Olympiad, which was moved out of Russia after it invaded Ukraine, was awarded to Chennai recently, making it the second major global event of the sport to be held in India after the World Championship match in 2013.

The event is held over 11 rounds in both open and women's categories with likely participation of over 2,000 players.

Several important decisions were taken, including the one to award the Olympiad to Chennai, during the FIDE Council held virtually recently.

"The Council decided to award the organisation of the 44th Chess Olympiad to the All India Chess Federation to be organised in Chennai within the period from July 28 (opening ceremony) till August 10 (Departure)," FIDE said.

Also, it was decided that the 94th FIDE Congress would be organised by the All India Chess Federation in Chennai from July 31 to August 9 and to approve August 7 as the date for FIDE elections.

FIDE also said it had decided "to note strong preference to organise the Chess Olympiad for people with disabilities at the same dates as the 44th Chess Olympiad."

Also, taking into account the current recommendations of the IOC, FIDE decided to suspend the national teams of Russia and Belarus from participation in official FIDE tournaments until further notice.

In the individual tournaments of the FIDE World Championship cycle, players from these countries will be allowed to participate under the FIDE flag.

FIDE also said it had chosen to postpone the Women's Candidates Tournament 2022 to the last quarter of 2022 and to continue consultations with players regarding the format of the tournament.