Australia’s top-ranked women’s chess player has sparked a global debate about Israel’s participation in international sporting tournaments by becoming the first player to boycott Israel over its genocide of Palestinians at the Chess world’s biggest tournament — the 46th Chess Olympiad currently taking place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.​

On Wednesday, Heather Richards announced she would not take part in Australia’s round seven match against Israel at the Olympiad, a biennial tournament involving 205 countries that served as the chess world’s premier international competition since 1927.​

​Richards, a mechanical engineer who lives in Gladstone, Queensland, is currently Australia’s women’s chess champion. She said that she was participating in a sporting boycott of Israel because the country was committing a genocide.

  • manuallybreathing@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    Well well well, havent seen this in australian media, how interesting, I have it on good authority that australian media had an anti israel bias 🤣

    • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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      1 month ago

      I have it on good authority that australian media had an anti israel bias 🤣

      dunnn