Israel refuses to Saudi Arabia to organize an international tournament of chess

The International Chess Federation has decided to ban Saudi Arabia from holding an international chess tournament after receiving a complaint against Riyadh from Israel.

The federation has confirmed that the World Championship of Quick and Light Matches will not be held in Saudi Arabia later this year, as scheduled for the second year in a row, but also in St. Petersburg, Russia, from December 25 to 31.

The association has not explained why the tournament was transferred from Saudi Arabia to Russia, but Lawfare Project, a non-governmental human rights organization, represents Israeli players banned from participating in the tournament last year because that they did not obtain visas.

The organization issued a statement stressing that the union had failed last year to implement policies that reject discrimination on national, ethnic, political, social, sexual and sectarian grounds.

According to the Israeli newspaper, the Israeli chess player, current president of the International Federation of Gambling, Emile Sotovsky, reportedly said the reason for this decision was due to "the policy followed by the Saudi organizers".

Source: The New York Times