Dear Chessfriends
Chess is and was always influenced by people from many countries and cultures. We all appreciate that now Turkey has become a member of our modern chessworld. If you feel a little bit disturb by todays rotten chesspolitics you can listen to this beautiful melody

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP0jaenKrJ0

and to other national anthems
and then lets talk about chess again and forget about the rest for a while.

Why is it always Israel that is whining and getting politics involved with it. I won't say more about it, because they might accuse me of being anti-sematic ;)

Is it known if there are complaints from other countries? It would be handier to make a complaint together of those countries that didn't like that their anthem wasn't played.

But maybe it is better for the kids also not to play the anthems, it takes ages for them to wait. I guess almost none of the kids minded that their anthem wasn't played. All they wanted was their nice medal as fast as possible i think. (I would at that age)

@Arne you are right about discussions about Israel. It is to controversial and lots of politics are getting involved, while this site should mainly focus at chess.

Very unfortunate for the organisation, but it was very likely to occur. Most remarks or comments initially got ignored or declined instantly. Communication was very low level, and some decisions on organisational level weren't thought through. It are these little things wich can be of importance, wich is why listening first and trying to find a middle way without instantly offending the other party might be worth it. It's a pitty that this happened on the last day, but it wasn't the only thing happening during those 12 days.

Did they refuse to play the Israeli anthem or did they play no anthem at all?

i don't think it is related to politics.probably it is the same as in Novi Sad when organizing part did not have anthems of Azerbaijan and Russia.

Boris Alterman said: "This year only the Russian anthem was played during the closing ceremony as the most successful delegation (according medals) in the WYCC."

Poor little Israel!
"My feeling is, that such events hurt chess in general and send the wrong message the children who dream to become chess champions taking pride in representing their countries."
The children in Gaza and on the Westbank don't have much to dream of (If they haven't been shot yet.. In Gaza they are too hungry and homeless to dream!)..

This constant whining by Israel is why some people grow to dislike them.

@Guillaume Then, sorry, who is the "kid"?

I just wanted to point at the plain fact, that the complaint was mostly about disrespect towards the delegations suspecting some political reasons behind (and precisely this is the reason why I think with the complaint they went too far). Nonetheless whenever an Israeli team is involved in such controversies this politival background is sadly true. F. i. a huge load of comments here were about West Bank and Palestine etc. and not about organizing issues. (I think at a WCh playing the anthems is not an extra service- it is just normal).

The Peruvians athems wasn't played. Maybe Turkey hates them! And what about Iran and China and etc. etc.?
Of course there is a (very, very) little chance that Israel is right. Let's wait for the answer of the FIDE.

It would have been an issue if other anthems (e.g. the one of Iran) had been played, but the Israeli one was "not available" ... . And I wonder if the Turkish organizers had done without national anthems if one of their players had won gold. In fairness, the Israeli letter states that it was "disrespect to [all] junior winners, their federations and countries".

Personally I have mixed feelings when already U12 boys show Australian and Canadian flags at the winner's ceremony - yes they represent their countries but isn't it an individual competition? Maybe I think so because it would be 'unlikely' for Dutch or German players (the countries I lived in, I am not as sure about France where I also spent some time) ... .

BTW: Was the U14 girls ceremony the first from a total of 12? Only then the delegations would be left "astonished and without warning" that no anthem was played ... .

The Israeli anthem is only for Zionists. It is all about Zionism, and it is hurtful for the 20% or so non-Jewish citizens of Israel. That would be a reason not to play the anthem. The general situation in Israel/Palestine might also justify such a thing.

However, if Israeli players are allowed to compete, their anthem should also be played if one wins. One has got to be consistent. Either one boycotts Israel (which I favor, but which should be democratically decided by FIDE) or one treats it as equal.

So, if I understand GM Boris Alterman correctly, the national anthems of all winning countries other than Russia (i.e., Iran, Azerbaijan, China, Israel, Peru, India, and Australia) were not played, and that constitutes in fact a political aggression against one of these countries in particular?

I guess it's logical, but why Peru?

If the organizers were able to play the anthems at the same venue two years ago, why did they refuse to do so now? That is the question.

Swimming, athletics are also individual sports, and one can accept the plain fact, that national cohesion, belonging till might have some importance for some, and listening to the national anthem might evoke in the players and trainers some sentiment. In short, accept the fact, that it was important for them. And probably not only for the Israeli team.

I think the whole problem is a fairly overexegarated by the Israeli party, but the comments here just justify them.

Peru won two golden medals.

I think everybody has a different sentiment for the country one has grown up. Probably the chairman of Israeli chess federation feels patriotic, as others may be. Yet, it is unwise to read too much into others' political motives in events as such, save reacting based on speculations. The reaction as such only deepens one's sense of isolation, which leads to the deepening of fear. I have sympathy for the original cause of their fears (we know about the history, right?), yet at the same time, I am clear that reacting on this fear (we read news about West Bank and what has been going on in Gaza) does not liberate them. Personally, I treat people as individuals, and I am not too fond of the country I grew up (Japan). Maybe it is because what we did during WWII and our national denial about our crimes under a totalitarian regime, but it may be also my personal temperament. I respect the way other people feel about their countries, but again, it is wise to think twice before acting on political speculations. It only makes things worse.

@WGIFM: I know this kid, rather nice kid most of the time actually, who occasionally bursts out smashing his own toys, claiming publicly that nobody loves him. When people eventually tell him to calm down, that he is behaving like a moron, he says: "You see, I was right, you all hate me!"

Of course we all hope he will grow up soon, but we have given up teaching him chess for the time being.

The "no time" excuse is ridiculous, imagine the same situation at the Olympics. "Oh we'll only play China's hymn because they won most medals". People would riot.

I'm sure the Israeli federation is not the only one complaining here. The political explanation sounds likely as the Turkish federation couldn't leave out Israel as the only country, because that would look really really bad (and would probably cost them all future chess events they want to organize), so they left out all but the winner's anthem. They should have played either all hymns or no hymns at all.

Also I'm amazed at some posts here. Boycott Israeli players? Wow, that's even more than the usual single-mindedness and stupidity you get every time Israel comes up in discussions.

Well, it is true that Turkey refused to do the exercise with Israeli Air Force a little while ago, so the reaction to this incident from Israeli is well predicted. Yet again, sometimes in public relations, we need to take others' talk as face value, even when we don't believe it at all. That is something called diplomacy.

Let's focus on more relevant matters than national sentiments and for the sake of a peaceful future let's not use children's dreams as an excuse for ventilating our own frustrations, which of course stem from within, not from without.

Pricegivings are often boring, especially with 12 categories. The longer it takes, the more boring it becomes. So there is a good reason not to play anthems.

when we get the next jewish chess world champion after Lasker, Botvinnik, Tal, Fischer and Kasparov? and who else. its slowly tradition:)

I'll repeat the advice I've given earlier on this site: it's best to ignore all discussions involving Israel. Unfortunately, these discussions tend to escalate quicker than you can say 'blueberry pie', as is sadly shown once again in various comments to this thread :-(

I wonder when Godwin shows up....

Hi,
I am an Israeli.
Since no other anthems were played (with one exception), I think the protest is baseless on the grounds that it was aimed to be anti-Israel. However, the protest has some merrit in general, as anthems were played in the past events.
As to specific comments on this blog, some were friendly, others balanced and some unfriendly. Of the latter, I invite you to send your 18-year old daughter to spend some time in a city or village of your favorite nation. Experiencing their culture first hand may change your outlook somewhat, I think.
Paul

Chessbase summarizes the issue clearly:
........................................................................................
The TCF officials and organisers were on the road or in the air back to Ankara or Istanbul, so we were unable to contact them for a statement on this matter. We assume that it was not a boycott but simply too many national anthems – twelve – to be played at a closing ceremony in a hall packed with over a thousand exhausted kids.
.......................................................................................
Rather than making each player suffer forcing them to listen to each other's anthem, I think it would be better to let them visit around the city and enjoy their last hours after such a pressure on them for days. For those who haven't been to, Antalya is the Florida of Turkey and definitely a place to enjoy yourself.

@ Guillaume
Your metaphore does not fit the situation at all. In short: first anthems were not played then came the complaint and at last the comments. This is the causal line.

@WGIFM : And then you said the comments here justified the initial complaint. That's what my metaphore was illustrating.

Why play anthems at all at a junior event? Kids should not be bothered with politics and nationalism.

It is obvious that the organizers did not want to "offend" anybody by playing the national anthem of Isreal. The solution was not to play any country's with an exception.Pitiful and outragious. The lame excuse was that they didn't have any time. Poitical correctness was taken much too far.

Even in the chess world we must speak out when such as injustice is perpetrated. I would like to see Turkey banned from organizing international chess events in the future.

Putting our heads in the sand when it comes to Isreal,as Arne suggests is not the answer.

Politicians obviously shouldn't put their heads in the sand, Jim, but on an internet forum with people anonymously posting insulting comments, it's a whole different story.

The isue here is not Israel but fairness. There is no question, reading the posts, that there are some in this thread who dislike Israel. They make that very clear and to them I say - so what? This is not politics it is chess and it is not politicians but children. If a child works hard enough to get to that podium nobody should play politics with their victory. Anthems were played in the past and the winners anthem has become part of our competitive culture. It should have been played here.

Oh, and perhaps those who used this site to post their anti Israel opinions might benefit from a game of chess with an Israeli child - it might purge then of their need to politicise everything......To paraphrase Freud; sometimes a chess game is just a chess game.

Dkay, I agree politics should not be brought into play, it is just chess, and children chess at that. But it does not make much sense to complain that the comments are of a political nature when it was explicitly brought to this level in the letter of protest by Aviv Bushinsky and in the comments by GM Boris Alterman. Read again:

"I must say that this kind of boycott (if such occurred) strikes as a another example of how politics interferes with chess."(Aviv Bushinsky)

"What reason had been cancelled the anthems issue of the all winners this year, if not a political one? It seems as Israeli anthem is not acceptable these days in Turkey." (GM Boris Alterman)

Of course, it is not entirely impossible that it was indeed for political reasons that the anthems were not played. After all, a clear case of politics interfering with sports occurred earlier this year in tennis when Israeli player Shahar Peer was denied the right to play in Dubai. But Shahar Peer was then the only player being denied the right to play, and the organizers had motivated their decision on the recent political tension between Israel and the Arab countries. Here however, as has already been pointed out, it was a whole group that was denied to hear their anthem, and there is no reason whatsoever to single out Israel as the political target behind that group.

"This year only the Russian anthem was played during the closing ceremony as the most successful delegation (according medals)"

Perhaps that needs elaboration. Of the 36 individual medals, 6 were won by India, then 4 each by China, Poland and Russia. I will guess that the "most successful delegation" factored in some sort of team performance with regard to the top 3 scores from a country in each section. Yes? It's a way of getting each country to send a large delegation (at least 36 players); national pride might get trumped by politics, but not commerce!