This year’s first chess supertournament in the Dutch Wijk aan Ze turned into a huge scandal. Russian grandmaster Daniil Dubov, in whose entourage a case of COVID-19 infection was detected, was awarded a technical defeat by the organizers of the competition due to his refusal to wear a mask during a game with Anish Giri. According to the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Dubov will still be able to continue playing in the tournament.
At the first tournament in 2022 in Wijk aan Ze, the first high-profile chess scandal occurred. Its main participant was the Russian grandmaster, 25-year-old Daniil Dubov.
Dubov, who was preparing for the seventh round game against the Dutchman Anish Giri, received a message from the tournament organizers. It said that someone from the closest circle of the chess player passed a positive test for coronavirus. For this reason, the Russian was asked, just in case, to wear a medical mask during the game with Giri in order to protect the opponent.
In the evening, the Dutchman made his first move – moved the queen’s pawn, but after 15 minutes Dubov did not appear at the board.
The chess player, who passed a negative express test, decided to take a principled position and refused to put on a mask, citing the tournament’s COVID-19 regulations.
In accordance with the rules, wearing a mask is mandatory everywhere, but not during the competition. Dubov was awarded a technical defeat.
Dubov was supported by his compatriots Sergey Karyakin and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Karjakin reported в Twitterthat “I would never play masked chess.” He also wondered why this batch could not have been rescheduled for a rest day when the result of Dubov’s PCR test would have been known. “I am sure that Anish Giri would not refuse,” wrote the Russian grandmaster. Ian Nepomniachtchi wrote on his Telegram channel that he also shares Dubov’s position: “Daniel acted in accordance with his principles, at least he is right in this.”
The International Chess Federation said that the tournament will continue in full force, as the results of all PCR tests carried out were negative. Dubov, however, is unlikely to be able to get out of the basement of the standings, in which he now found himself. The Russian fell back to 12th position, only Indian player Rameshbabu Pragnanandha and Swede Niels Grandelius are below.
Exactly a year ago, the organizers of the supertournament in Wijk aan Ze also got into trouble, and then the situation was even stranger.
The victim was now playing for France (formerly for Iran) Alireza Firouzja. On the final day of the competition, he fought with the Pole Radoslaw Wojtaszek, and had a solid advantage. However, on the 60th move, the chief referee approached the players and asked them to move to another table, as the playoffs of the tournament between Anish Giri and the Dutchman Jorden van Forest were about to begin nearby. Firouzja and Wojtaszek, who did not want to change seats anywhere, discussed this situation with the referee for two minutes. The latter, as it turned out, forgot to stop the clock. This resulted in the loss of Firouja, who was in contention for ranking points and could have received more prize money. This season Firouzja in Wijk aan Ze decided not to come.
Daniil Dubov had previously also been involved in another scandal related to the match for the chess crown. In late November – early December, the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen and the winner of the Candidates Tournament Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi took part in it. At the end of the match, in which the Norwegian won with a crushing score, it became known that Dubov helped Carlsen prepare. Moreover, the contribution of Dubov, said the Norwegian, was very significant. Dubov’s actions provoked a wide discussion. There were those who criticized Dubov for unethical behavior, including Anatoly Karpov and Sergey Karyakin. Others, such as the 15th world chess champion Viswanathan Anand and the Israeli Boris Gelfand, supported the Russian. Dubov, commenting on the situation, said that the whole story was “sucked out of thin air” and that “nothing special happened.”