PM’s speech at launch of torch relay for 44th Chess Olympiad
Speaker: Narendra Modi
Date: 19 Jun, 2022

Present in this international event of Chess Olympiad are my Cabinet colleagues, President of International Chess Federation Arkady Dvorkovich, President of All India Chess Federation, Ambassadors of various countries, High Commissioners, representatives of chess and other sports organizations, representatives of State Governments, delegates, all other dignitaries, members of the Chess Olympiad team and other Chess players, ladies and gentlemen! Today is the first torch relay for the Chess Olympiad Games starting from India. This year, for the first time, India is going to host the Chess Olympiad Games. We are proud that coming out of its place of origin, this sports is leaving a mark in the whole world. It has become a passion for many countries. We are glad that Chess is being celebrated as a huge international event in its place of origin once again. In the form of ‘Chaturanga’, this sport had travelled around the world from ‘India’ centuries ago. Today, the torch of the first Chess Olympiad is also starting from India and travelling to other countries. Today, when India is celebrating 75 years of its independence and celebrating the ‘Amrit Mahotsav’, this torch of the Chess Olympiad will travel to 75 cities of the country. I am extremely delighted on one decision of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). FIDE has decided that the torch relay for every Chess Olympiad Games will start from India itself. This is not only an honour for India, but also for this glorious heritage of ‘chess’. My heartiest compliments to FIDE and all its members for the same! I also extend my best wishes to all the players for their great performance in the 44th Chess Olympiad. No matter who wins this game, it will be a victory of sportsmanship. I hope you play with high enthusiasm in Mahabalipuram, keeping the spirit of the sports paramount. Friends, For thousands of years, the mantra ‘Tamaso-Majyotirgamaya’ has been reverberating for the world. That is, we keep on moving continuously from ‘Darkness’ towards ‘Light’. Light, that is, a better future for humanity. Light means a happy and a healthy life. Light means trying to expand the potential in every field and therefore, India conducted research in fields like Maths, Science and Astronomy on one hand while on the other has made Ayurveda, Yoga, and sports a part of life. In India, sports like ‘wrestling’ and ‘kabaddi’, ‘mallakhamb’ used to be organized so that we could prepare the young generation not only with a healthy’ body but also with capabilities. Our forefathers invented games such as chaturanga or chess for analytical and problem solving brains. Through India, chess reached many countries of the world and became very popular. Today chess is also being used in schools for the youngsters as an education tool. Those youngsters who are learning about Chess are becoming problems solvers in different fields. From ‘Checkboard’ to playing on Computers as ‘Digital Chess’, India has been a witness to this long journey. India has produced great chess players like Neelkanth Vaidyanath, Lala Raja Babu and Thiruvengadacharya. Even today, many talents like ‘Viswanathan Anand’ ji, ‘Koneru’ Humpy, ‘Vivid’, ‘Divya Deshmukh’, present in front of us, are raising the glory of our Tricolour in Chess. Right now, I got the opportunity to play Chess with Koneru Humpy ji in a ceremonial move. Friends, It is pleasing to know that in the last 7-8 years India has continuously improved its performance in chess. In the 41st Chess Olympiad, India won its first medal as a bronze. In the virtual Chess Olympiad of 2020 and 2021, India has also won a gold and a bronze. This time the highest number of players ever is participating in the Chess Olympiad. Therefore, I hope that this time India will set a new record for medals. I hope my aspirations matches yours. Friends, I don’t know much about the game of Chess but the hidden spirit behind chess and its rules have deep meanings. For example, each piece of chess has its own unique strength and ability. If a right move is made with the piece, then it becomes very powerful! Even a “pawn” that is considered the “weakest” can become the “most powerful pawn”. Alertness is needed to make the right move or to take the right step. Then the pawn too gains the power of the rook, or the knight! Friends, This feature of chessboard gives us a big message of life. Given the right support and the right atmosphere, there would be no goal impossible even for the weakest. No matter what the background is or the number of obstacles on the way, if he gets the right assistance while taking the first step then he can become powerful and achieve the desired results. Friends, The game of chess has another great feature i.e. Vision. Chess teaches us that one who can think for a long term instead of short term success achieves real success. Speaking of sports related policies, we have TOPS i.e. Target Olympics Podium Scheme and the Khelo India and we witness the amazing results of the same. The new India’s youth today is doing amazing in every sport including chess. In the past few years, we have seen such major global sports events like the Olympics, Paralympics and Deaflympics. Players from India have performed brilliantly in all these events, breaking old records and creating new records. In Tokyo Olympics, we won 7 medals for the first time and in the Paralympics for the first time we won 19 medals! Recently, India has achieved one more success. We have won the Thomas Cup for the first time in seven decades. Our three female boxers have won gold and bronze medals in the World Championship. Neeraj Chopra, Olympics Gold medal winner, recently won another International medal and has set a new record! We can guess about the preparation and speed of India as also the spirit of the youth of India today! Now we are targeting the 2024 Paris Olympics and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. We have been supporting thousands of players under the TOPS scheme. The way India has emerged as a new force in the world of sports, the players of India too are creating a new identity in the sports world. More importantly, the youth of small cities of the country are coming forward to prove themselves in the field of sports. Friends, When a talent gets appropriate opportunities, then success itself embraces it. And there is no dearth of talents in our country. The youth of the country do not lack courage, dedication and capability. Earlier, our youth had to wait for appropriate platform but now under ‘Khelo India’ scheme, the country herself is searching and honing their skills. Thousands of youths have been selected from remote areas, villages and tribal dominated areas through the Khelo India scheme. In different states and districts, modern sports infrastructure is being built. In the new National Education Policy, sports have been given priority like other subjects. In the field of sports, the youth are getting new opportunities apart from playing. New streams like Sports Science, Sports Physio, Sports research etc have been added. Several sports universities are being opened in the country so that you can build a career. Friends, When a player goes to the field, or sits in front of chessboard or table, then the player doesn’t think about his/her own victory. Rather the player plays for the country. It is quite natural that the pressure of the aspirations of crores of people will be on the player. But you should keep it in mind that the country understands the dedication and labour put in by you. You have to give your 100% but the pressure should be 0% – i.e. free of any tension. Like victory is a part of the game, similarly, toiling for win is equally a part of the game. In the game of Chess, a simple mistake can change the game. But you can also turn the table by your mind game. So, in this game the more you keep your mind in control and be calm, the better you perform. Yoga and meditation can help you a lot in this game. Day after tomorrow i.e. 21st June is International Yoga Day. I would like you to make Yoga a part of your daily life and also propagate about yoga day in a big way. By doing so, you will be able to show the path to crores of people. I believe that you all will take part in the game with dedication and will enhance the glory of the country. I once again thank you for giving me this memorable opportunity. Once again, my heartiest wishes to the sports world! Thank you!