New Delhi: Swords were already drawn before chessboard battles could begin at the Women's Grand Prix in New Delhi, with one participant withdrawing from the event because of inadequate preparation by the local organisers.

The event, which was scheduled to begin on Mach 25, had to be postponed by one day after Kazakh grandmaster Zhansaya Abdumalik withdrew, and half of the dozen participants requested the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to postpone or cancel the tournament because they were upset over the "unfortunate way" in which women's tournaments were being organised.

However, the tournament went ahead on Sunday with just 11 participants, meaning each player will get a bye in one round. Moreover, India's R. Vaishali received a point in round 1 on Sunday without making a move because her opponent, German grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz, did not turn up, apparently in protest.

Another player, Russian grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkina, refused to shake tournament director Bharat Singh's hand before round 1.

What happened?

Speaking to ChessBase India, Abdumalik said she withdrew from the tournament because "preparation for the event was not adequate". She said that there was nobody to receive her at the airport when she landed at 1:30 am. " tried to contact the person who was supposed to wait for me. He didn't check his messages for one and a half hour. I did everything they said in our email before we arrived but there was nothing at the airport. I don't think it was hard to organize transfers for only 12 players when there was a huge Olympiad organized last year for thousands of people," she told the website.

Abdumalik said that "if a top male player was arriving" for the tournament, she cannot imagine a situation where nobody is there to pick him up. "That was not a good start. The location of the hotel was not great. FIDE knew that unfortunately Delhi has some problems with the air because of pollution. I could see a big landfill from my window where they were putting on a fire or something of that sort. Leaving the hotel is difficult because of its location. The hotel staff told me not to go out because it could be dangerous," she told Chess Base India.

She said she wants FIDE to give more attention to women's chess. "We deserve to play in good conditions. Everyone knows that I am a fighter and I would never withdraw from such a tournament without reason," she said.

After her withdrawal, six players – including Abdumalik – wrote to FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich and other officials, asking for the event to be postponed or cancelled.

FIDE apologises for mishandling

However, Dvorkovich, while apologising for the "mishandling" of the event, declined to cancel the event. He said FIDE "deeply regrets the problems and inconveniences" which players have experienced. "We understand that this situation has caused great dissatisfaction among the players and has put the tournament in danger. We acknowledge your concerns and frustrations, and we take them seriously. We highly appreciate your openness and would like to assure you that we are committed to addressing the issues that have been raised regarding this tournament and FIDE women events in general. We are also determined to improve the level of communication with the participants," he said.

The event cannot be postponed because the current FIDE calendar "does not allow space for strong assurances [of] when the tournament can be held", he said. "It is also important not to create a precedent that the whole event can be terminated and other players’ plans influenced due to the decision of a player to withdraw. Alongside the utmost respect for the comfort of our professional players, we are equally committed to demonstrating our reliability as trustworthy, credible partners to our organizers and sponsors," he added.

He promised to conduct a thorough review of the guidelines and standards for organising women's tournaments, and better cooperation between local organisers and FIDE. "Once again, please accept my apologies and thank you for your understanding and cooperation," Dvorkovich said.

'Not reason enough to withdraw', says tournament director 

The tournament director Bharat Singh, admitting that Abdumalik should have been received at the airport, said the issue was not reason enough for her to withdraw. "I know it is a lapse and she should've been received, but the grievances of the players [were] not only about this tournament. I believe that in the previous Grand Prix held at Munich, the players were asked to take a taxi from the airport and reach there, and one of the players was not received in the second leg at Kazakhstan also," he told ChessBase India in a video interview.

Singh also speculated that there may have been other reasons for Abdumalik to withdraw, saying he was informed by a volunteer that "she was not well, a doctor was arranged for her". He continued, "Probably she was not physically comfortable to play [in] the event, this may be one reason that she was not received."

He also denied allegations that the hotel's facilities were inadequate, saying it has hosted several chess tournaments and other sporting events in the past.

Kazakh compatriots spar

There was another twist in the tale when another player, Bibisara Assaubayeva, in an Instagram post accused her Kazakh compatriot Abdumalik of lacking sportsmanship. She said that while there were questions that the local organisers needed to answer, Abdumalik had stirred up a "hysteria, made up of lies". Assaubayeva said, "Athletes should be ready for any force majors and challenges, not whine and give up if something goes wrong."

Abdumalik shot back at Assaubayeva, pointing out that she was one of the six players who had asked FIDE to postpone or cancel the event. "In spite of all these ugly lies and hypocrisy of Bibisara Assaubayeva, I do not regret the decision and am convinced that chess players deserve to play in safe and decent conditions. I am always proud and honored to represent my country! Still remembering the Olympiad in India with fond memories, but the conditions offered in Delhi are really unacceptable," she wrote in her own Instagram post.

The back and forth continued with Assaubayeva claiming that she did not sign any letter asking for the event to be cancelled. "The seemingly unanimous message [to cancel the event] is more of Zhansaya's secret desire to lead everyone against the Federation of India rather than reality. Thirdly, the disappointment with the conditions provided by the organisers expressed by Zhansaya is groundless and biased," she said.

Another player, Elisabeth Pähtz, backed Abdumalik's claims and said Assaubayeva was "the first one" who "wanted to quit the tournament before anyone else" when she found out that the former was withdrawing.

"So to claim, she never signed the letter and she never wanted to quit the tournament is a lie from Bibisara Assaubayeva and I suppose, done to damage the reputation of her compatriot, no more no less. Since Bibisara's post on Instagram was shared and spread widely, I can confirm, that 4 other players never would have dared to put her name inside a letter without her permission! Please share!" she wrote on Facebook and Instagram.

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