Chennai: A day ahead of the Chess Olympiad in Chennai, 150 underprivileged children from various government schools were given the opportunity to fly. This was the first flight of all these students, who won in a district-level chess tournament.
Dr VP Jeyaseelan, a bureaucrat, shared pictures of the flight on Twitter.
"150 underprivileged kids of Government schools who have won in District level chess tournament conducted ahead of @chennaichess22 were given the opportunity to fly. All kids were flying for first time and much excited (sic)," Mr Jeyaseelan tweeted.
The chess fever in Chennai has peaked ahead of the 44th edition of the prestigious event which begins tomorrow. The city's Napier Bridge, which has been painted like a chess board, has already become a hit on the internet.
For the first time, in nearly 100 years of the history of the Chess Olympiad, India will play host. For two weeks, Chennai will host nearly 2,000 players from 188 countries.
With powerhouses Russia and China missing, India will be fielding three teams each in the Open and women's sections respectively.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first-ever torch relay for the Chess Olympiad ahead of the 44th edition of the event. He had said, “The first-ever torch relay of the Chess Olympiad is starting from India, it is also the first time India is hosting the big event.”