The FIDE World Amateur Chess Championship 2026 is scheduled to take place in early November in Malaysia. FIDE’s official announcement of the event states that all FIDE member federations and all eligible players are invited to participate.

Malaysia is a country that bans Israeli citizens from entering its territory. Malaysian entry restrictions prevent Israelis from participating in the tournament.

Israeli chess advocate and campaigner Lior Eisenberg shared details about this problem in an interview with Walla.

Lior Eisenberg

Lior Eisenberg

Israeli chess advocate

“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.

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.”

Eisenberg is now calling for pressure on FIDE to relocate the event to another country.

FIDE made a public statement in 2019. FIDE committed to not holding competitions in countries that refuse to issue visas or allow entry to all players eligible to participate, regardless of their nationality or citizenship. FIDE emphasized that its tournaments can only take place in locations where access is guaranteed for representatives of all national member federations.

Credit: Lennart Ootes / FIDE