Q. Consider the following statements in respect of the 44th Chess Olympiad, 2022 :
- It was the first time that Chess Olympiad was held in India.
- The official mascot was named Thambi.
- The trophy for the winning team in the open section is the Vera Menchik Cup.
- The trophy for the winning team in the women's section is the Hamilton-Russell Cup.
How many of the statements given above are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2023)
Answer:
Only two
Notes: The correct answer is
[B] Only two. The 44th Chess Olympiad was organized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Chennai, India, from July to August 2022.
- Statement 1 (Correct): This was indeed the first time the Chess Olympiad was held in India. It was also the first time it was held in Asia in 30 years.
- Statement 2 (Correct): The official mascot was "Thambi," a chess knight dressed in the traditional Tamil attire, the Veshti and Angavastram. The word "Thambi" means "younger brother" in Tamil.
- Statement 3 (Incorrect): The Hamilton-Russell Cup is the trophy for the winning team in the Open Section. It was donated by Frederick Hamilton-Russell for the first official Olympiad in 1927.
- Statement 4 (Incorrect): The Vera Menchik Cup is the trophy for the winning team in the Women's Section. It is named after the first-ever women's world chess champion.
In the 2022 edition, Uzbekistan won the gold medal in the Open section, while Ukraine won the gold in the Women's section. India (India-2 team) won the Bronze in the Open section.