Grandmaster Vishy Anand will go to New Zealand for a special torch ceremony before the Chess Olympiad. This event happens every two years, and this year it will be in Budapest, Hungary next month. The 45th Chess Olympiad is a celebration of 100 years since the World Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded.
FIDE chose New Zealand to represent Oceania in a global torch relay, marking this centenary. The torch has recently arrived in New Zealand from Kazakhstan and there will be a ceremony in Auckland on Sunday. Important chess officials, including Anand, will attend this event organized by the New Zealand Chess Federation. Paul Spiller, the federation’s vice president, noted how meaningful it is for New Zealand to be recognized by FIDE.
“This is a very exciting event for New Zealand chess. It’s rare for us to host a FIDE deputy president and a five-time world champion like Vishy Anand, who is very popular in India,” Spiller said. Many fans are traveling from across New Zealand to see him.
New Zealand will send two teams of five players to compete in the Olympiad’s open and women’s events. Around 3,000 players from all over the world will participate. Spiller mentioned that chess has become more popular recently, especially among young people, partly due to the pandemic and the Netflix show, The Queen’s Gambit.
He said, “The pandemic helped chess grow as people looked for online activities. The Netflix series also made chess trendy, especially with younger audiences.” Opportunities in chess are increasing, and now it’s possible to have careers in different roles, including coaching and photography.
Most of New Zealand’s players for the Olympiad are under 22. One of the youngest is 16-year-old Felix Xie, who started playing chess at age eight. Xie felt proud to represent New Zealand in the 2022 Olympiad in Chennai, India, when he was only 14. “Competing in India was a proud moment, even if my tournament wasn’t the best,” he shared.
Xie is happy to see more young people interested in chess. “Chess is more than just a game with your grandpa; it really challenges your mind,” he said. He looks forward to meeting Anand at the ceremony and competing in the Olympiad.
People can watch the Chess Olympiad live from September 10-23 on FIDE’s website.
