Chess Olympiad begins… Visagate rages

The Chess Olympiad started today as the favorites went through smoothly, but visagate has tainted the event. Many countries were not paired in the first round due to visa issues. Every couple of years, we see these stories, but this year it seemed unusual. Chessdom.com reported that as many as 60 countries faced visa issues and 40 teams were not paired in the first round.

Admittedly, the organizing committee is not in control over the issuance of visas, but these issues should be part of the discussion of the country’s Olympiad bids. The visagate seems to be the worst since the massive problems at the 2008 Olympiad in Dresden, Germany.

Kenya’s Kim Bhari (Kenya Chess Masala) had this to say and African journalists weighed in.

If a nation has a poor record of issuing visas to FIDE member nations, then it should be part of the awarding criteria. Imagine if the 2024 Olympics in Paris denied visas to 20% of the participating countries. Unfortunately, chess does not have the same clout, and many countries that were denied visas are politically-influenced. Ironically, in the FIDE election year, it appears that more effort is put into seeing that the maximum amount of delegations are present. These problems are more prevalent in European Union countries where there is a fear of visitors overstaying visas and/or defecting.

“They also point out blatantly that Nigeria is a Third World country,”

~Babatunde Ogunsiku, Africa Chess Media

Visagate Still an Issue

Are developing countries somehow banned from international events? Typically a nation’s representation will have to provide documentation on their financial and familial ties. Many of the countries denied were African and Middle Eastern. Babatunde Ogunsiku of Africa Chess Media stated that Nigeria had to appeal visa rejection with huge fees. Given the condescending nature of the rejection letter, he has decided not to travel.

Having traveled to Georgia, India, and several African countries, he was told they suspected he would flee and not return. “They also point out blatantly that Nigeria is a Third World country,” using the outdated term. Ogunsiku mentioned that six Nigerian players and several officials were denied visas! Of course, traveling to Georgia, India, or an African country does not carry the same flight risk. However, members of all of the rejected nations participated in the Paris Olympics.

It is high time that this issue is taken to the floor, but the organizers will say it is out of their hands. Yet, there is much more effort to get federations visas when an election is on the line. The visa problems seem to be prevalent in European Union countries. Fortunately, the biennial event is soon to be held in more diverse nations. Uzbekistan will host in 2026 and United Arab Emirates in 2028. Nevertheless, visa issues should at least warrant some attention from FIDE. In its 100th year, this treatment of developing nations continues to be a blot on FIDE and the motto it claims to uphold.