Flag Removal

[Wayne Komer]

Flag Removal

April 30, 2021

From the BBC:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56927758

A diplomatic incident erupted when a Polish official removed a Russian player's flag mid-game at the Women's World Draughts Championship.

In a video of the incident, Russia's Tamara Tansykkuzhina is deep in concentration, then suddenly distracted by the official's intervention.

The reigning champion lost the game to Poland's Natalia Sadowska.

The official later apologised but said he had urgently needed to comply with a sports ruling against Russia.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has banned Russian sportsmen and women from competing under the Russian flag for two years, until 16 December 2022, including at the Tokyo Olympics.

Wada confirmed it had requested action over the flag on Tuesday after an earlier request went unheeded but, in a statement to Reuters news agency, said: "Wada did not intend and did not ask for the flags to be removed during a match. The manner in which they were removed is not a question for Wada."

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Polish apology meant that "this incident should be considered settled". But he said he thought the Russian player had lost the game "largely due to that incident".

The world title match, at a hotel in the Polish capital Warsaw, continues until 3 May. Sadowska and Tansykkuzhina are playing nine rounds and the first to reach 54 points wins. Sadowska is ahead, by 32 to 16.

In solidarity with her opponent, Sadowska removed her Polish flag after the official's surprise intervention.

Anti-doping ruling against Russia

The Wada ruling bars Russian athletes in a wide range of sports from displaying their national flag in international competitions. The Russian national anthem cannot be played either.

Wada imposed the punishment after finding the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) non-compliant with Wada rules on lab testing to detect illegal doping.

Polish official Jacek Pawlicki, who removed the Russian flag, said "we were really under pressure and we were afraid". "I'm sure that many Russians are upset and for that I am truly sorry," he said.

He likened his dilemma to a "zugzwang" - the position where a player in chess or draughts faces only bad moves.

Damian Reszka, president of the Polish Draughts Federation, said "such was the need of the moment" - otherwise his federation would have been expelled from Wada.

____________

Suppose the Head Arbiter removes the Russian flag from Nepomniachtchi’s desk during a World Championship game?

[Wayne Komer]

Flag Removal

April 30, 2021

Nepomniachtchi Can't Play Carlsen Under Russian Flag

By Peter Doggers at

https://www.chess.com/news/view/nepo...-flag-wada-ban

GM Ian Nepomniachtchchi cannot play under the Russian flag during his world championship match with GM Magnus Carlsen in November-December in Dubai. The reason is Russia's ban from international sporting competitions by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The WADA ban, imposed for a big doping cover-up scandal, was set for four years in December 2019 but subsequently halved in December 2020 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This means that until the end of 2022, Russian athletes cannot compete in Olympics and world championship events representing their country, and Russia cannot organize world-class events.

The ban seemed to have little effect on the chess world when it became clear that the FIDE Candidates Tournament, which finished a few days ago in Yekaterinburg, could go on as planned. The three Russian participants could play under their flag as well.

However, now that a Russian player has qualified for the world championship things will be different, because it's a world championship. There, the international ban is in effect, meaning that Nepomniachtchi will have to participate as a neutral player. There will be no Russian flag on the table and the Russian national anthem won't be played.

FIDE's Chief Marketing and Communications Officer David Llada provided the following statement:

FIDE can confirm that, due to the WADA sanctions against Russia, Ian Nepomniachtchi will not be allowed to play under the Russian flag at the World Championship match in Dubai.

This ban forbids Russian athletes and event organizers to display publicly the flag of the Russian Federation, the name “Russia”, (in any language or format), or any national emblem or national symbol of the Russian Federation, including on their clothes, equipment, or other personal items, at any event under the denomination "World Championship".

CAS directly clarified to FIDE that these restrictions do not apply to the qualification stage of any world championship, like the World Cup 2021 and the Women's World Cup 2021 that will take place in Russia later this year.

Likewise, the WADA ban does not apply to the Chess Olympiad 2022, since this event does not have the status of "World Championship." Formally, this status belongs to the World Team Championship.