ECU General Assembly Resolution on Boycotts

[Chris Rice]

Article in El Pais by Leontxo Garcia on Firouzja. Its the opening paragraph that is interesting:

"The prodigious Iranian Alireza Firouzja, 15, is today the main candidate to be the next great chess champion. But he has reason to feel very irritated and frustrated: his government forced him last Friday to lose by default to the "enemy", an Israeli, Or Bronstein, 18, in the 3rd round of the Grenke Open in Karlsruhe (Germany), where he was one of the favourites. The next day, Firouzja lost by a beginner's mistake in front of a much inferior opponent. Logic indicates that it was his way of protesting in silence."

Really?

[Matt Mackenzie]

It was undoubtedly a pretty horrific blunder for a player of his strength, though such things have certainly occurred before "naturally".

[NickFaulks]

This looks encouraging. Maybe pandering to them isn't the only way to go.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-j ... -athletes/

[Phil Neatherway]

The key sentence from the Times of Israel appears to be this one:-

According to Israel’s Army Radio, the IJF had threatened to ban Iran from international competitions, including the Olympics, if it did not agree to fight Israelis.

Can we expect FIDE to take a similar stance?

[NickFaulks]

Can we expect FIDE to take a similar stance?

Looks like the way they're heading.

[Roger de Coverly]

With Gelfand among the qualifiers by rating and the two young Iranians invited or qualified, it's an issue that could resurface in the Isle of Man tournament for a Candidates place.

[Roger de Coverly]

It doesn't say so in as many words, but I think this is FIDE's response.

https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEW ... inal_S.pdf

You interpret it as being about players who persistently default by failing to attend, but it's probably about Iranian players and others who apply similar boycotts.

[Angus French]

It doesn't say so in as many words, but I think this is FIDE's response.

https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEW ... inal_S.pdf

You interpret it as being about players who persistently default by failing to attend, but it's probably about Iranian players and others who apply similar boycotts.

That document is linked to at the bottom of this page which lists Q2 2019 Presidential Board decisions. There's also this in the list of decisions taken:

Q2PB-2019/03 To ask Legal Advisor Aleksandr Martynov to develop clear guidelines for Arbiters (subject to confirmation by PB) to deal with the non-attendance situation in chess.

[Chris Rice]

Interesting article on BBC's website Thousands of Iranians support call for Iran world sport ban. Apparently many Iranians, sick and tired of the state interference in sports want their own country banned from competitions. Although chess isn't specifically mentioned it's easy to see that the same things must be going on when Iranians may have to face Israeli competitors, in some cases being told to deliberately lose in the previous round to avoid having to face them.

[NickFaulks]

Interesting article on BBC's website [url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trendi ... d=IwAR0g8-

The problems with judo have been big news in the Israeli ( and exiled Iranian ) press for a long time, it didn't look as though anyone else wanted to touch it.

[Tim Harding]

With Gelfand among the qualifiers by rating and the two young Iranians invited or qualified, it's an issue that could resurface in the Isle of Man tournament for a Candidates place.

It could happen sooner than that, in the World Cup third round.

Gelfand is quite a good bet to reach the third round, though Matlakov could be an obstacle in round 2.
Just above them in the draw, a likely round 2 pairing is Levon Aronian v Maghsoodloo.

Of course Aronian might win that match anyway but one can foresee circumstances where this issue could become live, e.g. Gelfand is through after the two classical games while Maghsoodloo is tied with Levon.

It would seem the young Iranian would then face the following possibilities:
a) Be told not to continue against Levon, (Or not necessarily be given any orders but just know what's expected of him.)
OR
b) Continue against Levon but default to Gelfand if he wins.

If b, it is hard to see him having his mind fully on the games.

[Chris Rice]

At the World Junior there was another Iranian forfeit against an Israeli. The New Delhi Sportstar quotes:

"There was also an unusual ‘walkover’ from the 11th seeded Iranian Aaryan Gholami when pitted against Israel’s Alexander Zlatin in the fourth round. Since there have been many occasions in chess a contest between players of these two countries have remained non-starters, Gholami took nothing to chance and even produced a medical certificate to prove his ‘indisposition’."

[Roger de Coverly]

Gholami took nothing to chance and even produced a medical certificate to prove his ‘indisposition’."

It's reported in the thread about the World Junior that the organisers took him at his word that he was ill and removed him for the rest of the tournament.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10448&start=15#p236041

[Mick Norris]

Radio Farda reports

Iran seems to have quietly lifted a 36-year ban on competition of its athletes against Israelis.

On Monday two Iranian chess grandmasters played against an Israeli player in the sixth edition of the Sunway Sitges chess festival in Sitges, Spain.

It is unlikely that the two members of Iran's chess team would do so without having received the green light from the authorities.

[NickFaulks]

"When the news of the unprecedented competition with an Israeli athlete was first publicized by the media outside Iran an official of the Chess Federation of Iran said the athletes had not been aware of the nationality of their rival, which is highly unlikely."

Yes, it certainly is.