Twice World Chess Champion Not to Travel for Saudi Arabia because of Its Inequality
Local Editor
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.
The 27-year-old Ukrainian had been looking forward to defending her championships won in Doha, Qatar in 2016 but this year's competition, hosted by a political rival, has already faced far more opposition than any chess competition ever should.
For Muzychuk and her sister Mariya, another chess pro, their refusal is on the grounds that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not treat women with anything even approaching equality - a country where the sisters would not be allowed outside unless escorted by a man.
"[I decided] not to play by someone's rules...not to be accompanied getting outside, and altogether not to feel myself a secondary creature," she said in an emotional statement.
"Exactly one year ago I won these two titles and was about the happiest person in the chess world but this time I feel really bad. I am ready to stand for my principles and skip the event, where in five days I was expected to earn more than I do in a dozen of events combined."
And therein lies the problem. Saudi Arabia are understood to have paid in the region of US$1.5m to host the tournament, which will be called the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships.
That fee is four times what the host usually forks out and the prize money at this week's event is many multiples of what players would usually expect to receive - particularly championship contenders like Anna.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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