NEW DELHI: Israel Chess Federation chief Zvika Barkai has accused FIDE of failing to honour a prior agreement over scheduling arrangements for Yom Kippur, after both Israel’s men’s and women’s teams forfeited their Round 6 matches at the ongoing 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand on Monday. The forfeits followed a scheduling dispute over the observance of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.The trouble began over the weekend. Israel had requested an early start to their games so they could be completed before Yom Kippur began. The Singapore men’s team and the Colombia women’s team, their opponents in Round 5, agreed to the adjustment, and the games went ahead on Sunday as scheduled.Monday told a very different story. For Round 6, falling on Yom Kippur itself, Israel submitted a formal request to FIDE, the sport’s world governing body, asking either for their games to start after 7:30pm local time or to be moved entirely to Tuesday, the tournament’s designated rest day.
The Netherlands and Bulgaria refuse
This time, their opponents, the Netherlands in the Open section and Bulgaria in the Women’s section, declined.With no agreement reached, both the Israeli men’s and women’s teams failed to show up for their scheduled games, and the Netherlands and Bulgaria were awarded full points via forfeit. Footage from the venue showed the Dutch team arriving to find no opponent waiting for them.FIDE clarified that Israel had requested schedule adjustments for both rounds because of Yom Kippur. For Round 5, it sought earlier games, while for Round 6, it requested a 7:30pm or later start or a move to September 22, the rest day. FIDE said it contacted both opponents, but neither agreed, noting they were entitled to decline.
Israel Chess Federation reacts to the issue
That last line, that the Netherlands and Bulgaria were within their rights to say no, is precisely where the Israeli Chess Federation’s objection begins.In an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com, Zvika Barkai, president and chairman of the Israel Chess Federation, said the entire situation should never have reached this point in the first place.“About six months ago, when we saw that the scheduling of the Olympiad would fall on Yom Kippur, we approached FIDE and asked them to change the date or provide us with a special arrangement,” Barkai said. “It was agreed in writing that Israel’s games on Monday, the eve of Yom Kippur, would be brought forward and finish before the holiday began, and that today’s games, on Yom Kippur, would start two hours later, after the end of the holiday.“According to Barkai, the failure was not one of goodwill on FIDE’s part, but of process. “We are extremely angry that FIDE did not honour the commitments it made,” he said. “Instead of putting this arrangement into the competition regulations — they were afraid of negative reactions, especially during the FIDE elections — they planned to speak with the teams that would be drawn against us. In practice, they did almost nothing, and we are extremely angry with them about this issue!!”Barkai drew a sharp contrast between how Sunday and Monday’s opponents responded. Of Singapore and Colombia, who agreed to the Round 5 adjustment, he was effusive.“Yesterday, fortunately, the Singaporean and Colombian teams showed sporting spirit and agreed to bring the games forward. We are very grateful to them and will also know how to reciprocate their sporting gesture,” he added.“Today, the Dutch team, against the men’s team, and the Bulgarian team, against the women’s team, behaved in an unsporting manner and strongly opposed postponing the games by an hour or by a day,” he further remarked. “FIDE did not enforce what had been agreed with us in advance and caused us significant harm.”Barkai’s frustration extended beyond the missed games themselves to how the results will now be recorded.“FIDE did nothing to minimize the damage it caused,” he continued. “They could at least have tried to prevent the match from being recorded as a 4–0, which will hurt us significantly in the rankings going forward. After the Olympiad, we will consider our next steps.”The forfeits, recorded as clean 4-0 defeats in both sections, carry real weight in the Olympiad’s standings compared to a rescheduled result that could have been contested normally.Speaking further, Barkai laid out the federation’s position at length. “We understand the difficulty of allowing us special arrangements because of the restrictions associated with Yom Kippur. We hold up the sporting conduct of the Singaporean and Colombian teams as an exemplary model, and we are very disappointed by the response of the Dutch and Bulgarian federations. The truth is that those we expected to show consideration did not disappoint us,” he remarked.“We didn’t expect too much from the Dutch, and accordingly, we were not disappointed. And finally, once again: the relationship between the Israeli Chess Federation and FIDE has been excellent and effective over the years. Precisely because of this, we expected much more from FIDE, to act as a responsible body that honours the agreements it makes with us, and we were disappointed!!”Despite the setback, Barkai insisted the controversy would not derail his team’s ambitions in Samarkand.Asked about his expectations for the remainder of the event, he added, “The Israeli teams have performed very well so far in the Olympiad and will continue to fight with all their strength and ability to reach around 15th place. Any final placing above 20th will be considered an achievement.”
