Russia stripped of hosting rights of tournament

India are the likely hosts of the 44th edition of the Chess Olympiad which was set to be held in Russia in July this year.

Due to Russia invasion of the Republic of Ukraine, Russia has been stripped the hosting rights of the tournament with India the only country that has, shown interest in hosting the event that was initially set for the city of Moscow.

This year’s Chess Olympiad will not be held in Russia as earlier planned after the International Chess Federation, FIDE, decided to strip the city of Moscow the hosting rights of the global event due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

A statement from the FIDE council read; “FIDE Council has decided that the 44th Chess Olympiad, including the competition for players with disabilities, as well as the FIDE Congress will not take place in Russia. FIDE will do its utmost best to find another organizer for the Olympiad and in due time provide information on the location and date of FIDE Congress 2022.”

India is the only country to have placed a bid to host the event as of now, but FIDE is still open to bidding rights from other nations ahead of the tournament set to be held from the 26th of July to 8th August.

Kenya had already selected a team of ten players to compete in the biennial tournament after a three months selection process.