The Odisha government plans to promote chess in a big way after successfully promoting hockey and other sporting activities such as athletics.

It will open around 100 chess training centres across the state to create a pool of talent in chess.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced the opening of chess training centres after meeting Dana Reizniece-Ozola, woman Grandmaster, deputy chair of FIDE (International Chess Federation) Management Board and former minister of finance and economics, Republic of Latvia, on Wednesday evening. Reizniece-Ozola met Naveen at Naveen Nivas and discussed steps to promote chess. She also commended the state’s initiatives in nurturing young chess talents.

After the meeting, Naveen said: “We are committed to providing the best opportunities for our youth, and chess is a powerful avenue for their growth. We have established the state-level chess academy — Pro-Chess-Ta and undertaken the Chess in Schools project, while over 100 chess training centres across Odisha are planned. We look forward to working closely with FIDE to achieve our goals.”

Naveen and Reizniece-Ozola emphasised the need to popularise chess as a mind sport and its immense potential to empower the youth intellectually and emotionally.

The meeting stressed the importance of identifying and supporting young chess prodigies and providing them with the right infrastructure and training to excel nationally and internationally.

Reizniece-Ozola expressed her appreciation for Naveen and Odisha’s relentless efforts in fostering the growth of sports among its youth.