Chess Olympiad Torch Relay reaches Amaravati

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], July 17 (ANI): The first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay reached Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.
Minister of Housing, Andhra government, Jogi Ramesh received the torch from Grandmaster Musunuri Lalit Babu at Tumalapalli Kalashetram, Vijayawada. The Grandmaster also visited iconic Durga Malleshwari Temple and Ashok Pillar on his city tour with the coveted torch.
"1st Ever #ChessOlympiadTorchRelay Update City AMRAVATI: 17th July Sh. @JogiRameshYSRCP Hon'ble Minister of Housing, Govt of AP received the torch from GM @lalitrohit93 at Tumalapalli Kalashetram, Vijayawada Take a look #India4ChessOlympiad #AmritMahotsav," tweeted SAI Media.
"GM @lalitrohit93 also visited iconic Durga Malleshwari Temple & Ashok Pillar on his city tour with the coveted torch," added SAI Media in another tweet.
KVV Sharma, President of Andhra Pradesh Chess Association also received the Olympiad Torch at Tummalapalli Kalakshetram from Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli.
Earlier, the first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay arrived in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Minister of Sports and Youth Services of Telangana, V Srinivas Goud received the torch from Grandmasters Harika Dronavalli and Arjun Erigaisi.
The other cities that have been covered by torch relay so far include Agartala, Namsai, Dibrugarh, Itanagar, Leh, Jammu, Srinagar, Dharamshala, Shimla, Chandigarh, Patiala, Amritsar, Panipat, Gurugram, Kurukshetra, Dehradun, Haridwar, Meerut, Kanpur, Kevadia, Ahmedabad, Dandi, Surat, Jaipur, Daman, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Panaji, Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jhansi, Gangtok, Siliguri, Kohima, Gangtok, Shillong, Guwahati and Siliguri, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Puri, and Konark.
The torch relay was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The torch began its relay from Leh.
The torch will travel to 75 cities for 40 days before it culminates at Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu. Over 200 countries are participating in the Chess Olympiad. Chess grandmasters will receive the torch at various identified venues.
The 44th edition of the world's biggest chess event will be held in Mahabalipuram near Chennai from July 28 to August 10. (ANI)