Qatari Grand Masters to skip Saudi chess event after being asked ‘not to raise Qatari flag’

Qatari grandmasters have decided to give the international chess federation’s (FIDE) Speed Chess Championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a miss after they were given a ludicrous demand not to raise the Qatari flag at any point during the tournament, reported Gulf Times.

Top names in chess like Norwegian Grand Master Magnus Larsen, Brit Nigel Short and India’s Vishwanathan Anand, among others, will be seen in action in the championships which offers a total prize money of $2m.

But Qatar’s own Grand Master Mohamed Al Mudaikhi, his Chinese-born Grand Master wife Zhu Chen and a couple of other players outrightly rejected Saudi Arabia’s demand.

Following their refusal to accede to the Saudi demand, visas were denied to them.

“What can I say except that it’s a clear case of mixing politics and sports,” Al Mudaikhi, who was voted ‘Arab chess player of the century,’ told Gulf Times.

Yesterday, it had emerged that the Qatari players were denied visas to travel to Saudi Arabia. 

The Qatar Chess Association said the move was a ‘blatant injustice against Qatari players and a violation of all international laws and sports,’ according to Qatar Tribune.

This should be seen as a fallout of the illegal siege of Qatar, which four neighbouring countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain, imposed on Qatar o June 5.

Earlier, Saudi Arabian football players had refused to speak to media at the Gulf Cup in Kuwait due to the presence of Qatari journalists.

Meanwhile, there were also reports that Israeli chess players were also denied entry into the country to take part in the tournament, according to Reuters.

It said that seven Israeli players had asked for visas to take part in the competition, but were all denied visas.

FIDE Vice-President Israel Gelfer told Reuters in an email that visas for the Israeli players ‘have not been issued and will not be issued.’