|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Pakistan’s national chess team boycotted Wednesday’s opening match against Israel, leaving all four games unplayed and giving Israel a 4-0 victory by default.
The forfeit came in the Open section of the 46th FIDE World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Pakistan Chess Federation President Syed Zeeshan Naqvi confirmed the withdrawal was deliberate, tying it to his country’s diplomatic posture toward Israel. “We have boycotted the match to express solidarity with the Palestinian people,” he told local reporters.
Naqvi said the federation maintains a standing policy against playing matches that conflict with the Pakistani government’s official stance. Pakistan will compete in the remaining rounds of the tournament, which ends September 27.
Dr. Zvika Barkai, President of the Israel Chess Federation, told The Jerusalem Post, “We cannot change global political trends or the diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Israel. What we can do is keep showing the positive side of Israel through chess.”
“This coming November, Jerusalem will host two major international chess events, the Jerusalem International Open and the Jerusalem Masters, bringing players and guests from many countries around the world to Israel, including some of the world’s leading chess players,” Barkai said. “We are not discouraged by one incident or another.”
Team Pakistan 🇵🇰 gives walkover to team Israel 🇮🇱 in the first round of the @FIDE_chess Olympiad 2026 in Samarkand.
The whole Pakistani team didn’t show up and gave away the full match point. pic.twitter.com/zVOVr5TtXN— Aditya Sur Roy (@adityasurroy21) September 16, 2026
Take Action
CAM has launched Report It, a secure app to report antisemitic incidents anonymously and in real time. Don’t stay silent. Download it today on the Apple App Store or Google Play. See it. Report it. Stop it.
