In Budapest, Hungary, the World Chess Olympiad's Open section sees Bangladesh pitted against Israel on Saturday. Enamul Hossain Rajib, Bangladesh's youngest Grandmaster, has decided to abstain from playing against Israel, citing the country's aggressive human rights violations as his reason.
Rajib's decision comes in the wake of a social media post he made late last night, where he questioned the participation of Israel in the Olympiad, given the exclusion of Russia and Belarus in previous events. He expressed his stance by announcing his boycott of the match against Israel.
In the Chess Olympiad, each round features four players from each country. For today's tenth round, Bangladesh had initially placed Rajib on the third board. However, his refusal to play means that Israel will automatically secure the point for that board. Syed Shahabuddin Shamim, the General Secretary of the Chess Federation, addressed the situation from Budapest, noting that the final round's results are crucial for the team's overall standing. Consequently, the team captain, Masudur Rahman Mallik, has arranged the lineup with Fahad on the first board, Nir on the second, Rajib on the third, and Tahsin on the fourth. If Rajib does not participate, Bangladesh will lose valuable points.
The relationship between Bangladesh and Israel has historically been strained. For many years, Bangladeshi passports included a statement prohibiting travel to Israel. Although this restriction has been lifted recently, the prospect of competing against Israel on an international stage remains uncomfortable. Despite this, the Chess Federation's General Secretary confirmed that Bangladesh will proceed with today's match to avoid falling further behind in the tournament. The other three Bangladeshi players are set to compete, and efforts will be made to discuss the matter further with Rajib.
