Bengaluru: Israel forfeited their Round 6 matches against Netherlands and Bulgaria in the FIDE Chess Olympiad on Monday after their opponents turned down requests to reschedule the encounters.
Israeli Teams Absent from Matches at Silk Road International Exhibition Centre
The Silk Road International Exhibition Centre in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, saw two tables left empty as the Israeli teams did not appear for their scheduled matches. This absence was due to Israel’s request to either delay the matches on Monday or move them to Tuesday, which is the tournament’s rest day. The request was made in observance of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, according to a statement from FIDE, the international chess federation.
Israel subsequently did not show up at the venue, handing both the teams 4-0 wins by forfeit. The Dutch team has world No.10 Anish Giri on Board 1. On Sunday, Singapore and Colombia had agreed to Israel’s request to reschedule their Round 5 encounters. Those matches began one hour and 15 minutes earlier than scheduled and were played at a different venue–the Savitsky Hotel, to minimise disruption. Earlier, in the opening round, Pakistan refused to play Israel in an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people, handing Israel a 4-0 win by forfeit.
Their opponents – Netherlands in the Open section and Bulgaria in the women’s section did not agree to the proposed changes. Teams are within their rights to turn down requests that involve a departure from the tournament’s standard playing times.
