FIDE Hands Israel a Forfeit Loss at the Olympiad

FIDE Awards Israel Technical Losses at the Chess Olympiad Due to Yom Kippur

The Chess Olympiad in Samarkand has faced an unusual situation in which the tournament schedule came into conflict with the religious obligations of participants. The Israeli men's and women's teams did not appear for their sixth-round matches against the Netherlands and Bulgaria, respectively. The reason was Yom Kippur, one of the most important days in Judaism.

The Israeli teams had asked in advance for the matches to be rescheduled, but this time their opponents did not agree. As a result, the matches were recorded as technical victories, with the Netherlands and Bulgaria both winning 4–0.

Why Israel Asked for the Schedule to Be Changed

Yom Kippur in 2026 falls on September 20–21. For observant participants, this is a period of fasting, prayer and religious restrictions, making it impossible for them to play chess during the regular tournament schedule.

The Israeli side approached FIDE with a request to adjust the sixth-round schedule. Two options were considered: starting the matches on the evening of September 21, after the religious observance had ended, or playing them on September 22, the official rest day of the Olympiad.

FIDE contacted the opponents of the Israeli teams to discuss the possibility of changing the schedule. However, the Netherlands and Bulgaria did not agree to depart from the approved timetable. FIDE specifically noted that the teams had the right to refuse the proposed changes.

The Situation Was Resolved in the Fifth Round

The contrast was particularly striking because a similar issue had already arisen one day earlier.

In the fifth round, the Israeli men's team was scheduled to play Singapore, while the women's team faced Colombia. Both opponents agreed to adjust the schedule: the matches started earlier, and the games were moved from the main playing hall to the official tournament hotel.

This allowed the Israeli players to finish their games before the beginning of the religious observance. FIDE reported that the matches were conducted in accordance with the regular tournament regulations and fair-play requirements.

The sixth round was therefore a fundamentally different situation. Israel no longer needed an earlier start, but rather a postponement of the matches to a later time.

What Happened in the Sixth Round

Two matches involving Israel were scheduled to take place on September 21 at the Chess Olympiad.

In the Open section, Israel was due to face the Netherlands. In the Women's section, the Israeli team was scheduled to play Bulgaria.

When the matches were due to begin, no representatives of the Israeli teams were present at the chessboards.

Under the tournament regulations, both Israeli teams were subsequently awarded losses. The Netherlands received a 4–0 victory over the Israeli men's team, while Bulgaria also defeated the Israeli women's team 4–0. None of the games were actually played.

Thus, these were not losses suffered over the chessboard, but technical results resulting from the teams' absence.

FIDE's Position

FIDE explained the situation clearly: the federation contacted both of Israel's opponents, but neither the Netherlands nor Bulgaria agreed to play at a different time.

At the same time, FIDE emphasized that the opposing teams had every right to maintain the official schedule.

The situation therefore depended on more than the wishes of one side. After the opponents declined to play at a different time, the Israeli teams faced a choice between participating in the matches and observing their religious restrictions. They did not appear for the matches.

Israeli Chess Federation Expresses Its Disagreement

The Israeli Chess Federation presented a different view of the situation. Federation president Tzvika Barkai said that the organization had previously contacted FIDE and asked it to take Yom Kippur into account when preparing the schedule. According to the Israeli side, it had received written assurances that the issue would be addressed.

After it became impossible to reach an agreement on rescheduling the sixth-round matches, Barkai strongly criticized FIDE's handling of the situation. The Israeli side argues that previously reached understandings were not implemented in practice.

It is important to distinguish this position from FIDE's official explanation. The federation states that the opponents refused to change the schedule and had the right to do so. The two sides therefore differ in their accounts of the preliminary arrangements and responsibility for the situation that followed.

An Unusual Episode at the Olympiad

The situation in Samarkand demonstrates how complicated scheduling can become at a major international team event involving hundreds of athletes from different religious and cultural backgrounds.

The sixth round was also not the first unusual incident involving Israel at this year's Olympiad. In the opening round, the Israeli men's team was awarded a 4–0 technical victory over Pakistan after the Pakistani team declined to play the match. The circumstances were different from the current situation: this time, the issue was specifically the inability to change the match time because of a religious holiday.

What It Means for the Tournament

For Israel, the two technical losses became a significant tournament development. The men's team entered the sixth round with eight match points, but instead of competing for additional points, it received a 0–4 result against the Netherlands.

The official Olympiad results record a 4–0 victory for the Netherlands over Israel, with all four games listed as unplayed due to a technical result.

After the sixth round, the participants have a rest day, with the next round scheduled for September 23. The Israeli teams will continue their campaigns after Yom Kippur has ended.

Where Is the Line Between Sport and Religious Tradition?

The sixth-round episode in Samarkand went far beyond a routine tournament-protocol issue. On one side is the unified schedule of a major international competition, which all participants are expected to follow. On the other are religious obligations that are of fundamental importance to some athletes.

The previous round demonstrated that such situations can be resolved through negotiation: Singapore and Colombia agreed to change the starting times, allowing the Israeli teams to observe the religious requirements. In the sixth round, a similar agreement could not be reached.

As a result, the Chess Olympiad has produced a rare example of a technical result caused not by competition over the board, but by the inability to agree on when the match could be played.

For Israel, this means two 0–4 losses. For the Netherlands and Bulgaria, it means four points each without a single game being played. For organizers of major international competitions, meanwhile, the episode raises a practical question once again: how should religious holidays be taken into account when scheduling events of this scale?