2017 FIDE Women's World Championship (Tehran)

[Joshua Gibbs]

Head of Iran's Chess Federation, Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, said they will "seriously deal" with a sister and brother who played in the chess festival in Gibraltar because the girl did not observe the veil and the boy played with an Israeli player.

This is why FIDE were so totally wrong in awarding the Women's World Cup to Iran.

I don't think anyone is saying it was a good idea to award it to Iran?

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Roger,

"This is why FIDE were so totally wrong in awarding the Women's World Cup to Iran"

The Women's W.C. was meant to take place in October 2016 but due to lack of interest
(no other word for it) it was put back to some time in 2017. They had no date, they had no host country.

At the FIDE meeting in Baku in September 2016 Iran, 'out of the blue' offered to host
the tournament in February 2017. There followed a brief discussion about dress code
and the FIDE members very much relived to find a host country agreed.

They had little or no choice in awarding it to Iran. Nobody else wanted to do it.
It was either accept their offer, which would have been pretty offensive, or twiddle their thumbs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_W ... nship_2017

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Have copied this on the Gibraltar thread as well but obviously its relevant here too:

Dorsa Derakhshani, a member of the Iranian Women's National Chess Team and a former world U-18 champion has been expelled from the national team for not covering her hair in the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival.

Head of Iran's Chess Federation, Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, said they will "seriously deal" with a sister and brother who played in the chess festival in Gibraltar because the girl did not observe the veil and the boy played with an Israeli player.

Pahlevanzadeh pointed out, "The first step in dealing with them would be to deprive them from every game that is played in Iran and in the name of Iran, and they will not have the chance to be on the national team."

Dorsa Derakhshani, 18, is presently studying in Spain and had participated in the Gibraltar games independently. Her brother, Borna, 15, had also registered in the games on his own. He played with Alexander Huzman, grandmaster from Israel.

(The state-run Fars news agency – February 18, 2017)

http://www.women.ncr-iran.org/iran-wome ... g-the-veil

He played with Huzman or Played Huzman or Played against Huzman?

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Head of Iran's Chess Federation, Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, said they will "seriously deal" with a sister and brother who played in the chess festival in Gibraltar because the girl did not observe the veil and the boy played with an Israeli player.

This is why FIDE were so totally wrong in awarding the Women's World Cup to Iran.

Iran has it's own rules.

Chess players in Iranian social networks argue that it wasn't the first time she has played without hijab, so it is curious why they mmade an issue of it now.

Mr Pahlevanzadeh also first said it was an ope3n tourney and anyone could take part, but seems to have unfortunately given up under political presswure now, since it is like a Parliment member rose the issue and wanted the intelligence service of Iran deel with Mr. Pahlevanzadeh.

Also, the person in charge of a commercial guarage was executed apparently for having invested in Isreal in the first years of the new regime.

Anyway, these things are for Iranians only and won't be appliccable to foreign players, so theyare safe.

[NickFaulks]

Anyway, these things are for Iranians only and won't be appliccable to foreign players, so theyare safe.

That's why I was disappointed that none of the players tested the rule by simply turning up and not wearing the headgear. Would they have been turned back at the airport? If so, they would have made their protest in a much more effective way.

In any case, the question is not quite as clearcut as it seems at first glance. If the Papua New Guinea team arrived wearing their national dress of nothing at all, I think this would be considered unacceptable. So there can be dress codes, it just where the line is drawn.

[LawrenceCooper]

If the Papua New Guinea team arrived wearing their national dress of nothing at all, I think this would be considered unacceptable.

"Rupert the bare"

[soheil_hooshdaran]

Anyway, these things are for Iranians only and won't be appliccable to foreign players, so theyare safe.

That's why I was disappointed that none of the players tested the rule by simply turning up and not wearing the headgear. Would they have been turned back at the airport? If so, they would have made their protest in a much more effective way.

In any case, the question is not quite as clearcut as it seems at first glance. If the Papua New Guinea team arrived wearing their national dress of nothing at all, I think this would be considered unacceptable. So there can be dress codes, it just where the line is drawn.

The headscarf thing was told to them, presumably.

[NickFaulks]

That's the way to do it

[Jonathan Rogers]

To the extent that Hou Yifan ever had a challenger to worry about, that player has just been eliminated.

[LawrenceCooper]

To the extent that Hou Yifan ever had a challenger to worry about, that player has just been eliminated.

Her conqueror has been joined by Anna Muzychuk & Alexandra Kosteniuk in the semi-final with Dzagnidze & Harika to play-off tomorrow.

[Mick Norris]

To the extent that Hou Yifan ever had a challenger to worry about, that player has just been eliminated.

Except she's not in the Women's championship any more surely? I think the match will now be Wenjun Ju v the winner of this event?

[Richard Bates]

To the extent that Hou Yifan ever had a challenger to worry about, that player has just been eliminated.

Except she's not in the Women's championship any more surely? I think the match will now be Wenjun Ju v the winner of this event?

Why? (or are you making some obscure point about Gibraltar?). She didn't play in the previous editions of this event either, did she? The choice being to risk her title in the randomness of this event, or to temporarily give up the title and regain it in a proper match.

[NickFaulks]

or to temporarily give up the title and regain it in a proper match.

How does she get into that match?

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Some people (me included) seemed to have assumed that Hou Yifan qualified for all the WCC matches she played in as the defending champion. It seems this only happened for the 2011 event (she had won the knockout event the previous year). In 2013 and 2016 she qualified because she had won the FIDE Grand Prix. It seems that (in women's chess) if you win the knockout event you qualify for the match the following year and get to 'defend' your title (really, they should be considered separate titles). But if you win the matchplay form of the WCC, you don't qualify for anything (except probably automatic entry to some subsequent events), and you don't get to 'defend' your title. It does make some sort of sense, but I can see why Hou Yifan concluded she would be well rid of the whole thing.

(To be clear: the 2018 match for the World Championship looks as if it is between the winner of the 2017 event and the winner of the 2015-16 Grand Prix, which was Ju Wenjun.)

[Jonathan Rogers]

Well, now I know. You must be paying close attention indeed to know something as crazy as that!