Viswanathan Anand believes the 44th Chess Olympiad has been a phenomenal success.
He said it in as many words in his first press conference after getting elected as FIDE deputy president. “We are already one of the top nations (in playing chess) now we are also one of the top organising nations,” he said.
“Having held an Olympiad, we can say that. The next step is to cover the gaps we have. We need to get more girls and women into chess. We need to push the game in school as well.”
He commended the involvement of the Tamil Nadu government in the conduct of the Olympiad. “You could see that with the number of spectators coming from all parts of the State, even all parts of the country,” he said.