A standard celebratory reception at the Prime Minister’s Office in Athens has ignited a wave of excitement across the chess world, signaling a potential campaign to bring the Chess Olympiad back to Greece.
Following their spectacular EuroLeague championship victory, the basketball powerhouse Olympiacos visited Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to celebrate their European triumph. Amid the traditional exchange of sports memorabilia, including a signed basketball and the club’s official flag, one particular gift stole the spotlight and set the chess community buzzing: a beautifully crafted, luxury chess set.
The significance of the gesture was quickly highlighted by Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou, the Secretary General of the European Chess Union (ECU). Taking to social media, Tsorbatzoglou hinted that this moment might be the opening gambit for a major sports diplomacy push.
“Time to assist all the Chess Olympiad to return to Thessaloniki and let [Olympiacos Head Coach] Bartzokas and Giannis Antetokounmpo (also a chess fan) make the first move!” Tsorbatzoglou stated.
The choice of gift was far from accidental. Prime Minister Mitsotakis is well-known in Greece as an avid chess player and enthusiast. He frequently employs chess metaphors in high-level diplomacy and political strategy, once famously noting in a major interview that he prefers playing with the white pieces because he likes to hold the initiative and dictate the tempo of the game.
Mitsotakis has also used the royal game to build bridges with global tech leaders. During an official meeting with Google DeepMind co-founder and AI pioneer Demis Hassabis, himself a former world-class youth chess prodigy, the shared passion for chess served as a powerful common ground for discussing the future of technology in Europe.
Chess historians and enthusiasts will remember that Thessaloniki hosted Chess Olympiads back in 1984 and 1988.
The 1980s events in Thessaloniki are still remembered as some of the most atmospheric and well-organized in the history of the game. For years, there was even a gentleman’s agreement that Greece, as the historic birthplace of the Olympic movement, should regularly welcome the chess world back to its shores.
While the official bidding process for future Olympiads requires massive logistical and financial state guarantees, the chess leadership in Greece is already lining up an impressive roster of ambassadors. By invoking the names of Georgios Bartzokas, one of European basketball’s most respected tacticians, and NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has often been spotted playing chess in the locker room, the campaign aims to bridge the gap between mainstream sports and chess.
While the upcoming Olympiads are set in for Uzbekistan (2026) and Abu Dhabi (2028), Greece is clearly thinking multiple moves ahead. By placing a chess board directly into the hands of a chess-loving Prime Minister, the country’s chess federation has made its opening declaration: The road to the 2030s might just run through Thessaloniki.
