Consider the following statements in respect of the 44th Chess Olympiad, 2022:
- 1.It was the first time that Chess Olympiad was held in India.
- 2.The official mascot was named 'Thambi'.
- 3.The trophy for the winning team in the open section is the Vera Menchik Cup.
- 4.The trophy for the winning team in the women's section is the Hamilton-Russell Cup.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Only two
Statements 1 and 2 are correct; statements 3 and 4 have the two trophies swapped. The open-section winner gets the Hamilton-Russell Cup and the women's-section winner gets the Vera Menchik Cup.
- ✓ 1. The 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai (28 July to 10 August 2022) was the first Olympiad hosted in India.
- ✓ 2. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister released the official logo and mascot 'Thambi' before the event.
- ✗ 3. The Vera Menchik Cup goes to the winning team in the women's section, not the open section.
- ✗ 4. The Hamilton-Russell Cup goes to the winning team in the open section, not the women's section.
Remember · Chess Olympiad trophies: Hamilton-Russell Cup for the open section, Vera Menchik Cup for the women's section. The 2022 Chennai edition was India's first, with mascot Thambi.
Sources
- PIB: PM to declare 44th Chess Olympiad open in Chennai tomorrow (27 July 2022) ↗ “is being hosted in India for the first time and in Asia after 30 years.”
- Government of Tamil Nadu press release no. 937 (9 June 2022) ↗ “In the run-up to the prestigious event, I released the official logo & mascot 'Thambi'.”
- FIDE Handbook: Regulations for the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022, Chennai (open section trophy) ↗ · reference work “The winning team in the open section of the Main Competition shall receive the "Hamilton-Russell Cup". … The winning team in the women section of the Main Competition shall receive the "Vera Menchik Cup".”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·