Gaza war reaches chessboard: Israeli players quit international tournament in Spain

Seven Israeli chess players withdrew from the Open Basque Country international tournament in Sestao, located in Spain’s Biscay province, after tournament organisers publicly opposed their participation due to the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, El País newspaper reported.

Under the rules of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), organisers are required to accept applications from all athletes, and failure to do so would have led to the tournament losing its official recognition.

Miguel Ángel del Olmo, president of the Biscay Chess Club, said, “We are categorically opposed to their participation. We could not forbid them from coming, but we publicly asked them not to participate.” The Israeli players were offered the option to compete under the FIDE flag, but they declined.

This incident follows a similar controversy in early September, when the organisers of one of the world’s largest cycling events, the Vuelta a España, faced mass protests over the participation of the Israeli team Israel-Premier Tech. Two stages of the multi-day race were cut short amid the unrest.

The current tensions trace back to October 7,  2023, when Hamas fighters infiltrated southern Israel, killing and taking hostage numerous civilians and military personnel, while firing over 3,000 rockets. The attacks resulted in at least 1,400 deaths, mostly civilians, many of whom were attending a music festival. This assault was described as the largest mass killing of Jews since the Holocaust.

In response to these attacks and subsequent hostilities, Israel has demanded the return of all hostages—alive or deceased—the disarmament of Hamas, the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control over the enclave, and the establishment of an alternative civilian government in Gaza that does not pose a threat to Israel.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry in Gaza reported on September 12 that at least 64,756 Palestinians have died in Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.

By Tamilla Hasanova