– Generally speaking, I respect that the judges should be neutral, but I do not think this marking is a problematic case, says Peter Heine Nielsen to news. He is a coach for Magnus Carlsen and has become involved in the case of the Iranian chess referee Shohreh Bayat. ENGAGED: Carlsen coach Peter Heine Nielsen. Photo: Jørund Wessel Carlsen / news The judge made a name for himself during the Fischer Chess World Cup in October. On the first day of the championship, she wore a T-shirt with the inscription: “Women, life, freedom”. The words were written in the Iranian colors, a country she has not been to since January 2020. That after she received threats and was ordered to make a public apology for being pictured with a loose hijab. – She has fled Iran, and this (the T-shirt) is a natural reaction. What she does does not challenge her sporting independence, because there were no players in the tournament who might have had a problem with it, says Peter Heine Nielsen and urges the chess world to decide which side they stand on. Now – just a few months after the WC – the Iranian feels pressured out of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). – He is the Kremlin’s pawn In an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung, Bayat says that the following day she received a written message from the powerful president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Arkady Dvorkovich, to change her outfit. Dvorkovich is a former deputy prime minister in Russia under the government of Putin-friendly Dmitry Medvedev. Fide confirms to news that the president gave instructions not to mix sport and politics. Bayat followed up the following day with an outfit in which she wore the colors of the Ukrainian flag: yellow and blue. FIDE PRESS OFFICER: Davis Llada. Photo: CHRISTIAN KRAKENES / CHRISTIAN KRAKENES – No matter how noble or uncontroversial the matter is, it is inappropriate and unprofessional to engage in activism when you have that job, writes David Llada, press officer at Fide, in an email to news. To the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Bayat directs strong criticism of Fide president Dvorkovic. – I would call him a chess piece. He is the Kremlin’s pawn, she says. Fide and Dvorkovic will not comment on that to news. – We can only answer factual questions. We cannot comment on people’s opinions, says Llada. PRESIDENT: Arkady Dvorkovich is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. Today he is president of Fide. Photo: Jørund Wessel Carlsen / news Fide denies that she has been fired Since the Fischer Chess World Cup, the referee has not been used by Fide. She is also not part of the referees’ commission – the governing body for referees in Fide. Bayat tells news that she does not know whether she is banned from being a judge in Fide tournaments or not. The International Chess Federation, for its part, denies that Bayat has been fired as a judge. VICE-PRESIDENT of FIDE: Jøran Aulin-Jansson. Photo: Jørund Wessel Carlsen / news Jøran Aulin-Jansson, vice-president of Fide, says that it is not unusual for it to take a long time each time a judge judges in their tournaments. – No, there are many judges. When it comes to larger events under Fide’s auspices, there are far more judges than there are tournaments, he says to news. – Do you know if she has been “removed” from Fide? – I can never imagine her being removed or boycotted by Fide for that. I find that very strange. I don’t believe in that, says Aulin-Jansson. – Knew they did something wrong What is clear anyway is that Bayat is no longer part of the refereeing commission in the association. She explains that all the members of the commission were offered to work in either the same or another Fide commission. She was envisioned for a role in the Women’s Commission. – Then they appointed the delegate of the Iranian Chess Federation as secretary of the women’s commission and offered me to work in the women’s commission together with those who oppressed me, says Bayat to news, referring to the Iranian Federation. She therefore declined to work in the commission, which Aulin-Jansson understood. – Now I don’t know what happened here first. Whether she got an offer before or after the Iranian delegate. It is often a dynamic process, he says. According to Aulin-Jansson’s Fide colleague, David Llada, it is common for large turnovers in the various Fide commissions, and that many employees get new roles every four years. Bayat was tried to be moved to the women’s commissions because Fide thought she could be more valuable there. Uncertain whether she will be able to judge again Bayat received a lot of attention after the Iran marking in Iceland, which was discussed by news, among others. The chess judge also claims to have received several supportive messages from people in the Fide system. According to Bayat, some have expressed that they believe she lost her place on the commission because the Fide leadership was annoyed with her. – Another said that it was very disappointing that Fide does not care about being professionals and that I am the best chess judge in the world, says Bayat. – Do you think it will be possible for you to work for Fide as long as Dvorković is president? – I do not know. I know that Arkady is a political figure and I know that I took a risk by wearing these clothes to make a point. But I wanted to do it, and I believe it is a human rights issue that I could not remain silent about, says Bayat. There are dress code rules in chess that both players and judges are required to follow. Most recently, during the Blitz and Rapid Chess World Cup, there was another row when, among others, Jan Nepomnjashchij posed in a T-shirt with a Lionel Messi quote. Magnus Carlsen also did not follow the dress code when he came running in sweatpants after arriving late to a game. The Norwegian received a warning, but was not punished for the breach of the rules.
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Posed with this T-shirt in the World Cup – now the referee feels frozen out – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
