Israel Chess Teams Forfeit Matches Due to Yom Kippur Conflict

Israel's national chess teams, both men's and women's, suffered 4-0 technical defeats at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Monday, September 26, 2026. The forfeits occurred because the scheduled match times conflicted with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, and the teams did not show up to play. The Israeli Chess Association had reached a written agreement with the World Chess Federation (FIDE) in January to reschedule matches involving Israel that fell on Yom Kippur, either by starting them before the holiday began or postponing them until after it ended. However, this agreement was not formally incorporated into the tournament regulations.

While the Colombian and Singaporean teams showed sportsmanship by agreeing to earlier start times for their matches against Israel on Sunday, the Dutch and Bulgarian teams refused to adjust their schedules on Monday. FIDE subsequently awarded technical victories to the Netherlands and Bulgaria. "We are very angry that the World Federation did not stand by its commitments," stated Dr. Zvika Barkai, Chairman of the Israeli Chess Association. He added that FIDE's approach of leaving rescheduling to individual team negotiations was ineffective.

Gil Borochovsky, CEO of the Israeli Chess Association, explained that while the Dutch team had initially agreed to a reschedule, the move was not approved, and the Bulgarian team outright refused. "The Federation did nothing to mitigate the damage it caused. They could have at least tried to prevent the registration of 4-0, which will significantly harm us in the rankings later. We will consider our next steps, this will not pass in silence," Borochovsky said.

The Israeli Chess Association is considering legal action against FIDE and plans to demand compensation for the damage caused by the technical losses, which they believe will negatively impact the teams' rankings.