NEW YORK: Israel has been left out of the World Chess Championships, which kicked off Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after its players were unable to obtain the visas they needed to attend. Saudi Arabia “has historically not had diplomatic ties with a specific country — thus has maintained its policy,” she wrote. “Israel is not fielding a team at the World Chess Championships.”The decision came as a surprise to the Israeli team, especially after a Sunday announcement that visas had been issued to players from Qatar and Iran, two countries with poor relations with Saudi Arabia. “Not only do we want to participate in this event, we want to leave politics out of it and out of sports altogether,” Lior Aizenberg, a spokesman for the Israeli Chess Federation, said. The tournament — officially known as the King Salman Rapid & Blitz World Championships 2017 — ends Saturday.

Source: New Strait Times December 27, 2017 00:00 UTC