In the 40th Open Sestao Basque Country chess tournament, no flag of the participants will be seen because of the presence of Israeli players
The organizers have condemned the "Israeli genocide in Gaza" and will fly the Palestinian flag in Las Llanas.
The organizers of the 40th Open Sestao Basque Country chess tournament, to be held in Sestao (Bizkaia) from 12 to 18 September, have decided that the flags of the countries of origin of the chess players participating in the tournament will not be placed on the tables of the matches, after the Israeli players rejected their proposal not to participate in the competition or to play under the flag of the international federation.
Open Basque Country and the Sestao Chess Club have condemned "Israel's genocide in Gaza."
CA Ajedrez Sestao has explained that this year he has made every effort to give a boost to his traditional competition, which will be in its fortieth edition by 2025. Thanks to the "institutional support" he has received, he has gathered 250 players from 33 countries.
The organizers have explained that they cannot prevent any licensed player from participating, but that "to reject Israel's systematic violation of human rights", chess players from that country were invited first not to participate in the tournament and then to play under the FIDE flag of the International Chess Federation.
According to the organizers, both proposals were rejected by all, and the response of the International Chess Federation was "forceful", forcing the Israelis to participate.
Otherwise, the Open Basque Country would lose its official character and would not be able to distribute points to the participants.
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