Israeli chess players who were banned from the World Amateur Chess Championship in Malaysia argued that the word “world” should be stripped from the title since Israel was barred.

Lior Aizenberg, one of the excluded chess players, and other Israeli chess players have called on the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to intervene and urged the international community to also get involved.

“The championship in Malaysia should be canceled and moved to another country, or held in Israel,” they said in a statement.

“If the tournament proceeds in Malaysia despite the ban, the word ‘world’ must be stripped from its official title. It cannot be considered a true World Championship if representatives from Israel are barred from participating,” they added.

The chess representatives also insisted that international sporting standards be enforced as they had in the past, citing a case from 2019 when Malaysia lost the right to host after barring Israeli players.

“With less than three weeks remaining until the event, it is unacceptable that governing bodies have not issued a clear ultimatum to the Malaysian hosts. A direct precedent exists: in 2019, Malaysia was stripped of its hosting rights for the World Para Swimming Championships after refusing to allow Israeli athletes to compete,” they said.

Aizenberg slammed the Malaysian authorities for their indifference toward Israel.

“Participating with an Israeli passport or even a foreign passport, which doesn’t even require an entry visa to the country, makes no difference to them,” he said. “The Malaysian authorities are simply unwilling to allow Israelis to represent Israel at a World Championship. As far as they are concerned, Israel does not exist. After 78 years of statehood, and especially following October 7, we as Israelis cannot allow such a situation to stand.”

According to FIDE, “all FIDE member federations and all eligible players are invited to participate” in the world championship. However, Malaysia has implemented restrictions that ban Israelis from joining the games.

Aizenberg said that he had attempted to contact the tournament organizers to try to resolve the issue.

“I contacted the tournament organizer with an innocent question about participating, and immediately received a message saying he was sorry, but Israelis would not be able to play because of Malaysia’s immigration policy,” Aizenberg said. “Right afterward, he deleted the message and added another saying they would get back to me. A place that does not accept Israelis or players from any other country should not be allowed to host a world championship.”