CHENNAI: Even as chess fever gripped the entire State, government school students were taken on a free air trip from Chennai to Bengaluru on Wednesday, wherein they played chess mid-air.
As many as 149 students, including 73 girls, along with three teachers, flew in a special flight from Chennai to Bengaluru. The students were winners of various chess competitions conducted by the State government across Tamil Nadu as part of the Chess Olympiad. Before boarding the flight, students interacted with Minister for MSMEs TM Anbarasan, Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu, School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu and Chepauk-Triplicane MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Earlier, Udhayanidhi launched a special flight for the global event with pictures of the Chess Olympiad and its mascot Chess ‘Thambi’ on it. Later in the day, Udhayanidhi handed over the torch to Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand. The torch was taken to the Nehru Indoor Stadium.
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Meanwhile, Chief Minister MK Stalin inspected both the Nehru Stadium, where the inaugural function will be held, and the private hotel in Mahabalipuram, where the matches will be conducted. After the inspection, the Chief Minister played a match with Sanjay Kapoor, president of the All India Chess Federation, at the venue.
Later in the day, the Chief Minister inaugurated a 45-ft pillar set up at the entrance of Mahabalipuram. The pillar is set up as part of ‘Artisans Tourism Village’, which is undertaken jointly by the State and Union governments. The pillar has several sculptures resembling Pallavan-era sculptures and is aimed at luring tourists.
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