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All seven Israeli players scheduled to play in this week’s Basque Country chess championship have withdrawn from the tournament after organisers attempted to remove the nation’s flag. The 40th Basque Country Open, held in the town of Sestao, is a 235-player tournament drawn from 33 countries and four continents. Advertisement Organisers of the week-long event confirmed on Friday, via EFE, that none of the Israeli participants, including international masters Guy Levin and Yotam Shohat, would be competing. It comes after tournament organisers said that they were unsuccessful in their request for Israeli players to play under the flag of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), rather than that of Israel. The Sestao chess club said this request was “a sign of rejection of Israel’s systematic violation of human rights” as they wished to “express their strongest condemnation of the genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza”. The organisers had said: “We want to raise our voices to reject the crimes committed against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza strip and the indiscriminate attacks by the Israeli army. ” FIDE, the international governing body of chess, rejected the request and said it “strongly condemns any form of discrimination, including on the basis of nationality and flag. ” In response, the Sestao chess club decided not to place any national flags on the tables where games were played. It said that only flags of Spain’s autonomous communities would be flown at the venue, alongside the Palestinian flag “as a humble expression of solidarity from the Basque Country Open”. Miguel Angel Del Olmo, president of the Sestao chess club, is quoted as telling Damas y Reyes that the organiser’s original plan had been to prevent the Israeli players from participating in the tournament. The Basque Country — a region in northern Spain and southern France — has a long history of solidarity with Palestinians. Earlier this month, organisers of the cycling event Vuelta a Espana were forced to neutralise the finish of stage 11 with three kilometres remaining due to the scale of pro-Palestine protests taking place in Bilbao. Advertisement Protestors have targeted the Israel-Premier Tech team throughout the race, whose co-owner, Sylvan Adams, has been outspoken in referring to himself as the “self-appointed Ambassador at large for the state of Israel. ” Russia and Belarus remain under sanctions by FIDE, following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian and Belarussian players may participate in international chess tournaments, but under the neutral FIDE flag, while teams from each nation are banned from FIDE events. (STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Colin Millar is a Staff Writer for The Athletic. Prior to joining The Athletic, Colin was European Football writer at Mirror Football. From Belfast, he is the author of The Frying Pan of Spain: Sevilla vs Real Betis, Spain’s Hottest Football Rivalry, and he can be found on Twitter/X: @Millar_Colin Follow Colin on Twitter @Millar_Colin