Chennai’s iconic Napier bridge has been given a makeover to resemble a chess board ahead of the 44th Chess Olympiad which is scheduled to be conducted in the city from July 28. The entire surface of the bridge has been repainted with white and black squares to a chess board. IAS officer Supriya Sahu, who is Tamil Nadu's additional chief secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forest, tweeted a video of the newly painted bridge.
“Chennai the Chess Capital of India is all set to host the grand, Chess Olympiad 2022.The iconic Napier Bridge is decked up like a Chess Board.Check it out #ChessOlympiad2022 #ChessOlympiad #Chennai,” she said in a tweet.
Chennai the Chess Capital of India is all set to host the grand, Chess Olympiad 2022.The iconic Napier Bridge is decked up like a Chess Board.Check it out #ChessOlympiad2022 #ChessOlympiad #Chennai pic.twitter.com/wEsUfGHMlU
— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) July 16, 2022
This bridge also featured in the 39-second teaser titled 'Welcome to Namma Ooru (Our City) Chennai,' which was released a day ago to promote the 44th Chess Olympiad. The teaser video, with the backdrop of Mamallapuram monuments and performances of traditional and modern dance forms, was directed by filmmaker Vignesh Shivan and music was composed by Oscar winning musician AR Rahman. Penned by Vignesh Shivan, the clip begins with 'Welcome to Namma Ooru Chennai,' and the words 'Varuga Varuga Tamizhnattukuu Varuga (Warm Welcome to Tamil Nadu)’ are interspersed through the video. The teaser ends with the same words. The video also featured Chief Minister MK Stalin and AR Rahman in black and white dresses (to keep up the chess theme), surrounded by a group of veiled persons (in black and white dresses), on the iconic British era Napier Bridge repainted to look like a chess board. The teaser was released by Tamil superstar actor Rajinikanth with the hashtag ‘#ChessChennai2022’
#ChessChennai2022 pic.twitter.com/tiZeCN0a5v
— Rajinikanth (@rajinikanth) July 15, 2022
The 44th edition of the Chess Olympiad scheduled to be held between July 28 and August 10 at Mamallapuram is to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The event, which was supposed to be held in Moscow between July 26 and August 8, was changed because of the Russia-Ukraine war. The Olympiad is a biennial team event conducted over a two-week period, in which participants from around 190 countries compete.
People gathering at Chennai's iconic #NapierBridge decked as chess board just ahead of the #ChessOlympiad2022, to get a glimpse of the makeover and a few clicks pic.twitter.com/va8YdE9gR7
— azeefa (@AzeefaFathima) July 16, 2022