Consider the following statements in respect of the 44th Chess Olympiad, 2022: 1. It was the first time that Chess Olympiad was held in India. 2. The official mascot was named 'Thambi'. 3. The trophy for the winning team in the open section is the Vera Menchik Cup. 4. The trophy for the winning team in the women's section is the Hamilton-Russell Cup. How many of the statements given above are correct?

Answer: B. Only TWO of the four statements about 44th Chess Olympiad 2022 are correct. The 44th Chess Olympiad was held in Mahabalipuram (Chennai region), Tamil Nadu, from 28 July - 9 August 2022. Statement 1 is CORRECT. It was indeed the FIRST TIME the Chess Olympiad was held in India. (FIDE relocated the event from Russia to India due to the Ukraine war.) Statement 2 is CORRECT. The official mascot was 'THAMBI', a Tamil-named cartoon character. Statement 3 is WRONG. The trophy for the OPEN section winning team is the HAMILTON-RUSSELL CUP, NOT the Vera Menchik Cup. Statement 4 is WRONG. The trophy for the WOMEN'S section winning team is the VERA MENCHIK CUP (named after the first Women's World Chess Champion), NOT the Hamilton-Russell Cup. Statements 3 and 4 are inverted. So 2 correct (statements 1 and 2). Source: FIDE Chess Olympiad records / Tamil Nadu Government Chennai Chess Olympiad documents.