All news

World Chess Olympiad 2014 organizer apologizes to Russian team

The Russian women's team was initially denied registration just a week before the tournament kicked off

MOSCOW, August 18. /ITAR-TASS/. An organiser of World Chess Olympiad 2014 on Monday apologized to Russia's Chess Federation for the situation where the Russian women's team was initially denied registration just a week before the tournament kicked off.

The Norwegian Chess Federation regretted the embarrassing incident, acknowledging that the ensuing delay caused by alleged failure of the June 1 deadline might have impacted the performance of the Russian women team which eventually won the prestigious contest, the press service of the Russian Chess Federation reported.

Following the Organizing Committee's announcement that Russia had been excluded from the list of competitors, Russia said it would challenge the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, insisting that it had applied on time.

The World Chess Federation (FIDE) later overrode the decision, allowing the Russian women to participate in the tournament held in Tromso, Norway, on August 1-14.

The Russian Chess Federation said on Monday it has accepted the apology from the organizers of World Chess Olympiad 2014 who congratulated the Russian national team on the victory and expressed hope for further fruitful cooperation.