According this report, the Armenian team will not be playing in the 2016 Olympiad hosted by Azerbaijan. This is of course due to the dispute between the two countries over Nagorno-Karabakh, and the boycott had been on the cards since the Olympiad was awarded to Baku in 2012. At the time the Armenian delegation protested the awarding of the Olympiad to Azerbaijan due to the conflict between the two countries, but as Baku was the only bid to meet the bidding criteria, there wasn't an alternative venue.
Slightly more surprising is the suggestion that Greece won't be going either, although I have no idea the reasons why. Possibly the issue is a financial one as FIDE have included Greece on the list of countries receiving travel subsidies, but there may be other reasons at play.
4 comments:
The report (in text) says "Armenian men's team"; and the women?
Is this a "boycott", or the more usual: infinitely delayed visas, assurances things will "work out", etc.?
As a senior (50+) are you annoyed about how FIDE lets organizers target pocketbooks? Hort spoke out against it in Marienbad for November. The youth events are of course much worse (parents will ALWAYS pay for kids, or at least government funds appear too).
Wasn't both the Russian elections and the Baku Olympiad moved, so that they would take place right after (Sep 18)? Putin is expecting a lot from the team to boost national morale.
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