Chennai, Apr 11 (IANS): Tamil Nadu State Chess Association (TNSCA) will hold chess tournaments and create awareness about the upcoming Chess Olympiad at Mahabalipuram, near here, said secretary P. Stephen Balasamy.

"As a part of the run-up to the Olympiad, we will organise chess tournaments in schools/districts as suggested by the All India Chess Federation (AICF)," Balasamy told IANS.

The TNSCA will extend its fullest cooperation to AICF in making the global chess event a success, he added.

The 44th Chess Olympiad will be held at Mahabalipuram near here during July-August and open and women's teams from over 150 countries are expected to participate in the event.

On the issue of Tamil Nadu not sending a team for the MPL 19th National Team Chess Championship for Women-2022, currently underway at Jalgaon in Maharashtra, he said, "Players declined to participate as it was their annual exam time."

Perhaps for the same reason not many state teams are participating in the event, he added.

Only 11 teams are playing in the National Team Championship out of which two belong to public sector units, two teams from Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh. The other states that have sent their team are: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Odisha.