Chess Olympiad: Israel forfeit Rd 6 match after Netherlands, Bulgaria refuse to reschedule

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.

The Silk Road International Exhibition Centre in Samarkand, Uzbekistan had two empty tables after the Israeli teams did a no-show for their matches.

According to a Fide statement, Israel had requested that the matches either start later on Monday or be moved to Tuesday, the tournament’s rest day, on account of the observance of Yom Kippur, considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Their opponents – Netherlands in the Open section and Bulgaria in the women’s section did not agree to the proposed changes. 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.

Teams are within their rights to turn down requests that involve a departure from the tournament’s standard playing times.

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.