India To Bid For Hosting 2026 Chess Olympiad; AICF Lays Out Plan To Turn India Into Chess Destination Of The World

India is ready to bid for hosting the 2026 Chess Olympiad with the All India Chess Federation (AICF)'s newly-elected president Sanjay Kapoor outlining the ambition to turn India into the chess destination for the world, reports Economic Times. Kapoor shared that AICF has drawn a plan to manifest the ambitious goal.

The AICF is also gearing up to commence a professional chess league later this year. Kapoor shared, "For a long time, we have been keen on starting the Indian Chess league with an international flavour to popularise the game even more. The first edition, following the franchise model, will be organised before this year is through."

In a bid to give a fillip to the woman players in the country, AICF's annual general meeting (AGM) has also decided to host the Women's Grand Prix which is also an important part of the global women's championship cycle. AICF is also gearing to initiate a program to popularise chess at the school level.

As per Kapoor, all the 33 state-level affiliates of AICF will be implementing this simultaneously. He said, "We want every school-going kid in India to play chess. This will help in developing smarter future generations, thanks to the life-skill benefits that come naturally from the game."

AICF's AGM has also decided to establish a single-window registration for all players and a Centre of Excellence. It has also decided to organise a Super Tournament which would see many top-level players participate and allow higher-ranked Indian grandmasters (GMs) to compete with the best.