Fury erupted yesterday over an outspoken attack by Saudi Arabia on Qatar at the opening ceremony of an international chess tournament.
Viewers took to Twitter to attack Saudi General Sport Authority chairman Turki bin Abdul Mohsen al-Sheikh over remarks he made at the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships being held in Riyadh.
It happened after the event descended into acrimony when the Saudi authorities, left it to the last minute to grant the Qatari team visas, meaning they arrived too late to take part.
The players, who included grand master Mohamed al-Medaihki and his wife, the former world champion, Zhu Chen, were also told that, unlike other countries, they would not be allowed to fly their country’s flag at the tournament.
Al-Medaihki, head of the Qatar Chess Association, said he was not prepared to take part under such conditions. “This is contrary to all regulations and international and sports laws”, he said.
The Israeli team also complained after seven of their players were denied visas mocking claims by FIDE, the world chess body, that the tournament welcomed ‘all participants’. Iran’s players also withdrew.
The women’s double world chess champion, Anna Muzychuk, 27, from Ukraine, also refused to attend the event because of Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women as ‘secondary creatures’, and will forfeit her title as a result.
Onlookers were astonished when, despite all that had happened, al-Sheikh chose to use the opening ceremony to continue squabbling with Qatar. During his two-minute address al-Sheikh, insultingly and repeatedly referred to Qatar as a ‘mini-state’, in an attempt to belittle its status in the region.
“A mini state in the region has tried to spoil it (the tournament), claimed they didn’t receive visas to enter Saudi Arabia, which welcomes everyone”, he said. .
He tried to claim Qatar’s flags were allowed to be raised and he would not be “bothered by this state’s silly allegations”.
But this was despite FIDE confirming the flag row had taken place.
In a statement the chess body, which was paid $1.5mn by Saudi Arabia to host the tournament, said: “To put facts into perspective, the Saudi authorities informed FIDE that visas for Qatari players will be issued and they also proposed that for security reasons the Qatari players should play under the FIDE flag.”
FIDE said the flag issue was later resolved but the Qatari team missed the ‘Rapid’ part of the tournament, but were able to compete in the ‘Blitz’ section which started yesterday.
The statement ended with the words: “FIDE’s principle is that its World Chess Championships are a vehicle for promoting peace and development of friendship amongst all nations”.
Despite this pledge, al-Sheikh chose to hijack the event and use it to continue his country’s row with Qatar.
In a bizarre analogy he said that he had directed that any dealings with ‘this mini-state’ in sporting matters should be conducted by the manager of a fitness gym in Riyadh, which was ’something that suits their size.’
He went on: “We want to focus on the development of our sport. We will not pay attention to the inconveniences which this state, or mini-state or the regime in it does”.
His words were met with anger by chess fans who took to Twitter to vent their fury.
@mem3598 was mystified about why Saudi Arabia chose to continue its petty squabbles with Qatar in this manner.
He said: “I want to know why Turk al-Sheikh has to bring up Qatar, we forgot about you completely. We don’t even bring you up anymore.”
Shaher Alenzi put it a bit more bluntly when he said: “Turki al-Sheikh’s speech against Qatar during the chess tournament cannot even be described as rude and lacking or morals. We did not reach this level of distant ignorance. This is an upbringing of a street filled with dirt and chronic diseases.”
Tony Attlas added: “What do you want them to do for their rights. During the chess tournament yesterday, Turki al-Sheikh’s only concern was the country of Qatar, it is ripping his heart. Give your view on the speech he gave, and does it suit a chairman?”
In London, the English Chess Federation said Saudi Arabia should be barred from hosting future tournaments, despite its generous prize fund.
The Qatar Chess Federation said the Saudi authorities had “required the players not to raise the flag of their country during the competitions.”
It added: “This is a blatant injustice against our players and a violation of all international laws and sports”.
The row came six months after a Saudi-led alliance launched a diplomatic and transport blockade of Qatar which it accused of cosying up to Iran and supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.
In 2016 Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin-Abdullah al-Sheikh, issued a ban on chess calling it a form of gambling which is “a waste of time, money and a reason for the enmity between players”.
