NAMSAI, 14 Jul: The 44th Chess Olympiad torch relay reached Namsai district on Thursday with grandmaster Mitrabha Guha as the torchbearer.
Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein received the torch from Guha formally and handed it over again for its onward journey.
The torch rally will cover 75 cities across the country, and Namsai is the second place after Itanagar to have received the Olympiad torch.
An elated Mein said that he is very happy to be a part of the first Chess Olympiad game, which is being organised in Namsai district for the very first time.
“Chess is a disciplined mind game which is beneficial for development of reasoning and analytical abilities in children,” he said, adding that “chess can help young kids to stay away from the evils of drug addiction, mobile game addiction, alcoholism, etc.”
The DCM lauded the efforts of the Arunachal Pradesh Chess Association in promoting chess in the state, and said that he believes that Arunachal will produce renowned chess players.
“It is also a great moment for India as we got the privilege to host 44th Chess Olympiad 2022, a mega event for the first time which is going to be held in Mahabalipuram, Chennai, from 28 July to 10 August,” Mein said.
Later, Guha played chess with chess players of the state, including students of various schools. (DCM’s PR Cell)
