Withdrawals at the Open Basque Country Chess Tournament: Israeli Players Withdraw
Sestao, Vizcaya – The 40th Open Basque Country chess tournament has confirmed the withdrawal of the seven Israeli players who were registered to participate in the tournament, which begins this Friday in the Biscayan town of Sestao.
The news arrives after last Tuesday it was known the intention of three of them not to participate in the event. The organizers of the Club Ajedrez Sestao confirmed the news on Friday morning, indicating that none of the Israeli players will be present at the fronton of Las Llanas, venue of the tournament.
The tournament will feature the participation of around 240 players from 32 countries across four continents.
The Sestao Chess Club, organizer of the tournament, had proposed to the Israeli chess players registered “first of all not to participate in the tournament and if they did, to play under the FIDE flag”.
In a statement issued last Sunday, the Basque entity condemned “Israel’s genocide in Gaza.”
In the same statement, it was reported that all players “rejected both proposals” and the response from the International Chess Federation “was forceful, obliging the tournament to respect the rules governing FIDE.”
The organization explained that, if the rules were not followed, the Open Basque Country would lose its official recognition and would not award category points to its participants. This, in turn, “would practically lead to the suspension of the tournament with more than a hundred foreign players with their trips and accommodations already paid for.”
“The possible cancellation that would even seriously endanger the continuity of the Sestao Chess Club. That is why the players from Israel, complying with those FIDE rules, appear in the official lists represented by their flag,” clarified the organization.
