Israel Chess Teams Forfeit Matches Due to Yom Kippur Conflict

Israel's men's and women's chess teams were forced to forfeit their matches at the Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan on Monday, suffering 4-0 technical losses to the Netherlands and Bulgaria, respectively. The forfeits occurred because the scheduled match times conflicted with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. The Israeli Chess Association had arranged in January with the International Chess Federation (FIDE) for games scheduled on Yom Kippur eve to be moved earlier and games on Yom Kippur itself to be postponed until after the holiday. However, this agreement was not formally incorporated into the tournament regulations, leaving the decision to reschedule up to the individual national federations.

While Colombia and Singapore were accommodating and agreed to earlier start times for their matches against Israel on Sunday, the Dutch and Bulgarian teams refused to adjust their schedules. The Israeli Chess Association expressed strong anger towards FIDE for failing to uphold its commitment and for not proactively ensuring the schedule change was implemented. "We are very angry that the world federation did not stand by the commitments it gave," stated Dr. Zvika Barkai, Chairman of the Israeli Chess Association. He added that while Singapore and Colombia showed sportsmanship, "today, before the meetings against the Netherlands for the men and Bulgaria for the women, the picture was different."

Gil Borochovsky, CEO of the Israeli Chess Association, explained that the Dutch team had agreed to reschedule, but the move was not approved, while the Bulgarian team outright refused. "The federation did nothing to mitigate the damage it caused," Borochovsky said, noting the significant negative impact these technical losses will have on Israel's rankings. The Israeli Chess Association is considering legal action and demanding compensation from FIDE for the damages incurred by the teams due to the technical losses.