Academy Award-winning composer A. R. Rahman has released the much-awaited 44th Chess Olympiad 2022 Anthem, which also features honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin and Aditi Shankar, daughter of filmmaker Shankar, and has been conceptualized and directed by filmmaker Vignesh Shivan. Sharing the video on Twitter, 'Oscar Nayagan' ARR wrote, "#ChessChennai2022 ♟is bringing the world to our Chennai. I am honoured to have had the opportunity of composing the anthem for such a truly international event." A. R. Rahman also expressed his gratitude to CM M. K. Stalin, the International Chess Federation (FIDE), and the All India Chess Federation (AICF), including all those are working hard to make India proud on the global stage.
The 44th Chess Olympiad 2022 Anthem has lyrics penned by A. R. Rahman and Vignesh Shivan, while the choreography has been done by Brindha and also includes Ratnavelu and Praveen Antony for the cinematography and editing, respectively, while Kiran has overseen the art direction. The world's biggest chess event is set to be inaugurated at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on July 28 and will see renowned Indian names in the chess community like Viswanathan Anand, Sasikiran, Srinath Narayanan, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, R. B. Ramesh, Vantika Agrawal, Abhijit Kunte, Anwesh Upadhyaya, M. Shyam Sundar, D. Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, Divya Deshmukh, Adhiban Baskaran, R. Vaishali, Vidit Gujrathi, and Tania Sachdev to name a notable few.
Earlier, Russia was scheduled to host the 44th Chess Olympiad but was later moved to India, after the Ukraine invasion. The chess tournament will be held in Mahabalipuram near Chennai from July 28 to August 10 and is the second global event of the game to be held in the country after 2013's World Championship match, when Viswanathan Anand and current world No.1 Magnus Carlsen, battled it out. Players from nearly 190 countries will be competing over a two-week period in the Chess Olympiad, which had its first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay in Bhubaneswar.
Watch the 44TH Chess Olympiad 2022 Anthem video below:
