ATHENS: The governing body for chess launched a campaign on Tuesday for the game to be included at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) called for faster formats of traditional chess, called rapid and blitz, to be included on the Olympic programme.

FIDE said in a statement that the game of chess has a “genuine global appeal” and that it has 189 national federations and 600 million people who practice chess globally.

The International Olympic Committee recognised chess as a sport in 1999 and a year later it was an exhibition event at the Sydney Olympics.

A bid by chess officials to be included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics failed.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2019