Israel Forfeits Chess Olympiad Matches Rather Than Compete on Yom Kippur

Israel's national chess teams forfeited two matches at the Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan rather than compete on Yom Kippur, after efforts to change the playing times were unsuccessful.

Monday's schedule paired Israel's Open team with the Netherlands and the women's team with Bulgaria at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.

With the matches taking place during Yom Kippur, the Israeli teams asked either to begin after the fast ended Monday evening or to play on Tuesday, which was already scheduled as a rest day.

The International Chess Federation, known as FIDE, contacted both opposing teams about changing the schedule. The Netherlands and Bulgaria declined, which FIDE said they were entitled to do under the tournament rules.

Israel consequently did not appear for the matches and received 4-0 forfeiture defeats in both competitions.

The Israel Chess Federation said the situation came despite an earlier understanding with FIDE over how the tournament would accommodate Yom Kippur.

According to the Israeli federation, it contacted FIDE in January after discovering that the Olympiad schedule would clash with the holy day. The federation said the two sides then reached a written agreement. Games on the eve of Yom Kippur would begin earlier, while matches during Yom Kippur would move until after the fast.

However, FIDE did not incorporate the arrangement into the tournament regulations, so schedule changes depended on whether Israel's opponents agreed.

That distinction became clear over the two rounds affected by Yom Kippur.

On Sunday, Israel's Open and women's teams were scheduled to face Singapore and Colombia respectively. Both opposing teams agreed to begin their matches earlier than usual, allowing the Israeli players to finish before the start of Yom Kippur.

The matches were moved to the Savitsky Hotel in Samarkand and played under normal tournament and fair-play rules.

FIDE thanked Singapore and Colombia for what it described as their sportsmanship and cooperation.