New Delhi FIDE Women's Grand Prix Mar 24 - Apr 6 2023

[LawrenceCooper]

Due to start today but round 1 has been postponed:
https://twitter.com/ChessbaseIndia/stat ... 5045329921
https://twitter.com/PHChess/status/1639 ... dIoplDxl7k

Tournament website: https://womengrandprix.fide.com/

[Ian Thompson]

Due to start today but round 1 has been postponed:

If this is accurate, and the only reason, it seems a rather excessive reaction:

As for today's history, we know that:
1. Zhansaya Abdumalik (and not only her) was not met at the airport by any of the organizers of the tournament.
2. Zhansaya Abdumalik refused to play in the tournament due to point 1.

[LawrenceCooper]

Due to start today but round 1 has been postponed:

If this is accurate, and the only reason, it seems a rather excessive reaction:

As for today's history, we know that:
1. Zhansaya Abdumalik (and not only her) was not met at the airport by any of the organizers of the tournament.
2. Zhansaya Abdumalik refused to play in the tournament due to point 1.

https://twitter.com/OnTheQueenside/stat ... 33/photo/1

gives a bit more information.

[LawrenceCooper]

FIDE response: https://www.fide.com/news/2296

[Kevin Thurlow]

so, does the unfortunate Abdumalik get a sort of apology?

[LawrenceCooper]

Four games are underway, we appear to be down to ten players with Zhansaya dropping out yesterday & now Elisabeth Paehtz today.

[Mick Norris]

chess24

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich has issued an apology after the start of the New Delhi FIDE Women’s Grand Prix was postponed when Zhansaya Abdumalik withdrew in protest at the conditions for the players. Earlier Ukrainian sisters Anna and Mariya Muzychuk had also withdrawn, but were replaced by Nino Batsiashvili and Vaishali.

UPDATE, Sunday March 26th: Elisabeth Paehtz has also now pulled out of the event in protest at the fact that some players would get six Whites while others had four after Zhansaya Abdumalik's withdrawal. The 12-player event will now have only 10 players, assuming no-one else withdraws.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Mick,

Some amusing comments in that link you gave.

Bibisara Assaubayeva;
"If you react, like Zhansaya, to every little thing, then it’s better to quit sport, get married and cook borscht."

Zhansaya's reply;
" I will definitely get married and will be happy to cook borscht for my husband. I know many wonderful female chess players who successfully combine family life and a professional career, and I sincerely admire them."

The treatment Zhansaya describes does sound rather shabby and Bibisara added her name to the request that the event be postponed or cancelled.

[LawrenceCooper]

chess24

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich has issued an apology after the start of the New Delhi FIDE Women’s Grand Prix was postponed when Zhansaya Abdumalik withdrew in protest at the conditions for the players. Earlier Ukrainian sisters Anna and Mariya Muzychuk had also withdrawn, but were replaced by Nino Batsiashvili and Vaishali.

UPDATE, Sunday March 26th: Elisabeth Paehtz has also now pulled out of the event in protest at the fact that some players would get six Whites while others had four after Zhansaya Abdumalik's withdrawal. The 12-player event will now have only 10 players, assuming no-one else withdraws.

Ironically, two players now have 6 whites and 3 blacks, whilst two others have 3 whites and 6 blacks.

[LawrenceCooper]

chess24

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich has issued an apology after the start of the New Delhi FIDE Women’s Grand Prix was postponed when Zhansaya Abdumalik withdrew in protest at the conditions for the players. Earlier Ukrainian sisters Anna and Mariya Muzychuk had also withdrawn, but were replaced by Nino Batsiashvili and Vaishali.

UPDATE, Sunday March 26th: Elisabeth Paehtz has also now pulled out of the event in protest at the fact that some players would get six Whites while others had four after Zhansaya Abdumalik's withdrawal. The 12-player event will now have only 10 players, assuming no-one else withdraws.

https://www.schachbund.de/news/elisabet ... rueck.html

[Ian Thompson]

UPDATE, Sunday March 26th: Elisabeth Paehtz has also now pulled out of the event in protest at the fact that some players would get six Whites while others had four after Zhansaya Abdumalik's withdrawal. The 12-player event will now have only 10 players, assuming no-one else withdraws.

Ironically, two players now have 6 whites and 3 blacks, whilst two others have 3 whites and 6 blacks.

What Elisabeth Pähtz has said conflicts with what FIDE said they would do:

In order to manage the tournament under the new conditions, the following schedule and principles will apply:

The tournament will be held with the participation of 11 players
The first round pairings will remain as they are (IM Assaubayeva exempt)
The following rounds will be affected as less as possible in order to balance colours where it is possible.

It would have been possible to redo the pairings so everyone got 5 games with each colour even with the 1st round parings already fixed, although the players may not have been happy that they'd prepared to play an opponent with one colour prior to the event and then found the repairings meant they were playing them with the opposite colour.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Surely the pairings *have* to be redone now? It would be completely ridiculous not to.

[Angus French]

More from Elisabeth Pähtz.

[Matt Bridgeman]

A lift from Susan Polgar’s Facebook post;

Statement from German Chess Federation (Google translate)

There were also several organizational problems on site that are inappropriate for a tournament in the World Cup qualifying cycle.

After her arrival in New Delhi, one player was not picked up and transferred by the organizer as agreed, all other players were transferred alone and unaccompanied into taxis in the middle of the night. The players felt extremely insecure.

The room allocation in the hotel was chaotic. Despite the known arrival times, there were initially no rooms available for several players and they had to wait several hours at five in the morning in the hotel lobby. Others had to vacate their room the next day after moving in.

To this day, there is still no FIDE contact on site. At every FIDE event it is customary and stipulated in the regulations that there is a "technical delegate". This person acts as "FIDE Supervisor" and is the contact person for (organizational) problems of all kinds. Unfortunately, FIDE failed to send a responsible person to New Delhi in good time and to check the venue and the hotel in advance.

As the German Chess Federation, we regret that our national player was confronted with such circumstances in a tournament of the World Cup qualification cycle, which led to her withdrawal from the tournament. We are surprised and disappointed that after the "FIDE Women's Year 2022" such mismanagement can occur at such an important women's tournament. We expect FIDE to work through what happened and make changes for the future.

[NickFaulks]

A lift from Susan Polgar’s Facebook post;

After her arrival in New Delhi, one player was not picked up and transferred by the organizer as agreed, all other players were transferred alone and unaccompanied into taxis in the middle of the night. The players felt extremely insecure.

The room allocation in the hotel was chaotic. Despite the known arrival times, there were initially no rooms available for several players and they had to wait several hours at five in the morning in the hotel lobby. Others had to vacate their room the next day after moving in.

All sounds fairly normal.