It has been nearly a year since the Russia-Ukraine war began. Chennai was affected by that in many ways, especially with medical students from the city having to return early on, with the changes in fuel prices affecting everyone across the world and with re-routing of air and sea routes affecting supply chains marginally.
One of the positive fallouts was the shift of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad. Originally scheduled to be held in Moscow (it had been moved there from Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia), it became untenable in the wake of the conflict. Chennai stepped up to pitch for hosting rights, and won, thanks in part to its sustained legacy of chess champions.
In the run-up to the event, many parts of the city went 'colourless' - rather, they just went bi-colour. People were worried that this chessboard pattern on bridges (and some roads) would distract drivers and cause accidents. Thankfully, it seems to have got people to concentrate better on their moves!
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