44th chess Olympiad: Mahabalipuram gears up for one of biggest indoor sporting events

India will host the Chess Olympiad for the first time, from July 28 to August 10, in Chennai. The 44th edition of the world’s largest chess tournament will be held in Mahabalipuram. Ahead of the mega event, the organizers are busy erecting temporary structures in an open ground roughly spanning 44,000 sq. ft and also sprucing up the venue. A couple of weeks before the grand launch of the event, The New Indian Express visited the venue to catch a glimpse of the arrangements. We spoke to R Anantharam, the venue in charge, to know more about the preparations underway.

The 44,000 square feet venue getting ready with sound-proofing and insulation material in Mahabalipuram. (Photo | Sunish P Surendran)