Israel's men and women teams forfeited their sixth‑round matches at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, handing the Netherlands and Bulgaria 4‑0 wins after the Israeli squads failed to appear.
The forfeits followed Israel's request to shift the Monday games to after 7:30 pm local time or to the tournament’s rest day on Tuesday because Yom Kippur falls on the same day. A FIDE statement said teams were within their rights to reject such changes.
Earlier this week, Israel had secured a 4‑0 forfeit win when Pakistan refused to play them in solidarity with Palestine, but the reversal from the Netherlands and Bulgaria marks a stark contrast.
Netherlands’ top seed Anish Giri, world No. 10 and a crowd favourite, now leads the Open section with a clean‑sheet forfeit, while Bulgaria’s top‑female player, who was set to face Israel, will enjoy a similar break.
The decision leaves the Olympiad standings largely unchanged, but it sparks debate over the fairness of allowing teams to refuse schedule adjustments tied to religious observances.
The next round will see the Netherlands and Bulgaria take on their scheduled opponents, while Israel must regroup for the remaining fixtures.