‘I am ready to stand for my principles’: Double world chess champion says she won’t defend titles in Saudi Arabia because of kingdom’s inequality

Despite the spineless and the gutless in the media, culture, and academia, there are moral human beings who, despite overwhelming odds, willperseveres to achieve his or her values, even when his or her ability and independence leads to conflict with others.

I love that this one woman alone is going to teach the Islamic kingdom a lesson.

No woman, Jew, non-Muslim should be forced by any sporting association to play in a Muslim country under the most brutal, rasict, misogynistic, antisemitic, anti-Christian system of governance in the world.

Saudi Arabia is hosting the international speed chess championships for the first time this week. But, as the World Chess Federation has now confirmed, Israeli players have been denied visas to enter the country to play.

In spite of this outrage, which ought to invalidate the competition, the tournament will nonetheless be held as scheduled. As usual with such slights, outraged statements from Israel will follow, the world will shrug its shoulders and life will go on. (Jeff Tobin)

For all the talk about the progressive new king and the new detente between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the Saudis default position is Islam – Jew hating, bigoted, misogynist, creed apartheid Islam. Islam needs a Vatican II. What better pace to start then …. chess, a game of critical thinking and reason.

‘I am ready to stand for my principles’: Double world chess champion says she won’t defend titles in Saudi Arabia because of kingdom’s inequality

The Ukrainian, 27, will not travel to Saudi Arabia, where she wouldn’t even be allowed to walk down the street unaccompanied

It takes years of work, days of staring at a board and hours of agonising over individuals moves en route to becoming a world champion in chess.

And it takes only a short-sighted decision from its governing body to ensure you lose that crown.

“In a few days I am going to lose two World Champion titles – one by one,” Anna Muzychuk says.

“Just because I decided not to go to Saudi Arabia.”

Muyzchuk is the defending world champion in two disciplines of speed chess – rapid and blitz. In rapid, each players gets 15 minutes to complete all of their moves and in blitz it is just 10.