Letter from Chess Federation of Canada
The Chess Federation of Canada protests in the strongest terms the abusive treatment of the Canadian player Anton Kovalyev at the 2017 World Cup at Tbilisi.
The incident has been widely covered in the international press and does not need repetition here. The issue is not the dress code for players, which is regrettably unclear and inconsistently applied at this, and other FIDE events. This should be corrected in the appropriate forum.
The issue is the behaviour of chief organizer Zurab Azmaiparashvili in taking it upon himself to insult and threaten our young Canadian player just minutes before his scheduled third round game, resulting in the latter’s withdrawal. Mr Azmaiparashvili’s behaviour in this case clearly violated the rules and norms of FIDE. The perpetrator must be subject to appropriate discipline to ensure this sort of thing never happens again.
The CFC will be making a formal complaint to the Ethics Committee of FIDE and will be seeking to have Mr. Azmaiparashvili barred from the playing hall for future events.
Sincerely
Hal Bond
FIDE Zone 2.2 President and Delegate, Canada