Iran and Israel do not play their match from Chess Olympiad 2024
With India basically having the title guaranteed in the open section most of the attention in the final day of the Chess Olympiad is directed towards the women section. With India and Kazakhstan as favorites for the gold, USA and Poland with chances, and multiple teams in contention for medals, the women section will draw attention.
However, a geopolitical matchup in the women section may distract fans from he medal race. Iran and Israel were paired by the Chess Olympiad Swiss system for the final round of the Olympiad. Amid the tense global situation, Iran team is most likely not playing the match.
The drama in the match Iran vs Israel comes the same day another major geopolitical chess decision will be taken as the Russian / Kyrgyz proposal discussion and voting is currently going on
11:00 CET As the match starts, there are no moves on the boards in the Iran vs Israel match
11:30 CET The default times are finished. The arbiters fix the score 4-0 in favor of Israel.
11:45 CET In a statement for Chessdom.com Israel’s top player Marsel Efroimski, who was on board 1 for the match, commented, “It’s a shame that politics is mixed with sports. In the Olympic sports, there is a severe penalty for not showing up and it is expected from FIDE to put end of this behavior.“
12:30 CET The renowned journalist Leon Watson in a commentary for Chessdom, “The Iran problem is basically a big reason why chess was out of the Olympic movement until 1995. FIDE manipulated the pairings. But Iran refusing to play is also a problem. FIDE is damned if it does, damned if it doesn’t. It needs to take action.”
Developing story, stay tuned for updates
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The matches started and no moves are being played in Iran vs Israel