Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday received the torch relay for the 44th Chess Olympiad from Grand Master Deep Sengupta at Indian Institute of Advance Studies, Shimla. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the torch relay of Chess Olympiad on June 19 at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi. This torch will be taken to 75 cities in a span of 40 days before the final culmination at Mahabalipuram near Chennai. Thakur said that this year, India has received the opportunity to host the Chess Olympiad and when India is celebrating its 75th year of independence, Amrit Mahotsav, this Chess Olympiad torch will also be going to 75 cities of the country, which is historic in itself. Later, the Chief Minister handed over the torch relay to Grand Master Deep Sengupta, which is set to travel to Chandigarh. Earlier, General Secretary, Himachal Pradesh Chess Association, Sanjeev Thakur welcomed the Chief Minister and gave detailed information about Chess Olympiad.