Housing and visa problems at the Chess Olympiad: FIDE announces compensation and allows for postponement of the Congress

Housing and Visa Issues at the Chess Olympiad: FIDE Announces Compensation and Admits Possible Postponement of Congress

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) will pay compensation to teams that faced accommodation difficulties at the World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.

According to FIDE, on the first day of the Olympiad, due to shortcomings in the organization of accommodation, some teams were left without proper housing and were forced to book rooms in the city on their own at their own expense. The federation noted that accommodation issues fall under the competence of the local organizing committee, but decided to provide financial support to the affected participants.

Teams that had to find housing on their own will be compensated for the cost of accommodation of an equivalent level for up to three days. In addition, teams forced to stay in official hotels that do not meet FIDE-approved standards will receive additional compensation. The amount of the payments has not been disclosed.

FIDE expressed regret over the organizational problems and apologized to the affected federations and teams. The organization emphasized that its priority is to prevent financial losses for participants due to the current situation.

Accommodation difficulties, in particular, arose for the Indian national team.

The Indian Express reported that after arriving in Samarkand, several chess players were unable to get rooms at the Silk Road by Minyoun hotel for several hours.

Men's team captain Srinath Narayanan told the publication that, according to information received by the team, the hotel had run out of vacant rooms, and booking data had allegedly not been transferred to the hotel by the local organizing committee.

Narayanan also wrote on X that five hours after arrival, the team had still not received rooms and did not understand when the issue would be resolved. Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi called his first impressions of the Olympiad in Samarkand "very bad."

The All India Chess Federation sent delegation head Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte to resolve the situation. Later, Narayanan reported that representatives of the Uzbek chess side and the hotel met with the Indian delegation and helped resolve the issues that had arisen.

Difficulties with participant accommodation were also discussed at the official press conference before the start of the Olympiad. FIDE Deputy President Viswanathan Anand acknowledged the existence of issues with housing, accreditation, and visas, and stated that the international federation, together with the local organizing committee, was working to eliminate them. According to him, some of the issues had already been resolved by that time.

At the same time, FIDE reported visa acquisition problems for some Olympiad participants and delegates of the organization's Congress. According to the federation, several participants have not yet received the necessary visas, including delegates with voting rights in the upcoming FIDE elections, as well as FIDE Council member Benard Wanjala.

FIDE emphasized that the Congress can only take place on the condition that everyone who has the right to participate and vote is able to exercise this right. If visa issues are not resolved and the rights of delegates and FIDE Council members are not guaranteed, the organization's Council will consider the possibility of postponing the Congress to other dates and another location.

The FIDE Congress is scheduled to take place in Samarkand from September 20 to 27, with the General Assembly meeting and the election of the federation's leadership planned for September 26–27.

The 46th World Chess Olympiad is taking place in Samarkand. The first round was held on September 16. 208 teams are participating in the open section, and 191 in the women's section. Uzbekistan started its home chess Olympiad with victories for all six of its teams. The three men's teams defeated Jamaica, Afghanistan, and Mali, while the women's teams beat Trinidad and Tobago, Togo, and Tanzania.