All Chess Activities Banned During Presidential Election Period

The Iranian Chess Federation announced that it will suspend its activities in order to ensure a "vibrant" presidential election in the country. In a statement, the federation encouraged the entire chess community to participate in the elections and emphasized that "all sports activities, including competitions, courses, and training classes, are prohibited from July 7 to 10." According to reports by Young Journalists Club, this ban was issued based on a directive from the Ministry of Sports. However, other federations have refrained from publishing this directive. The Chess Federation stated that if the elections go to a second round, the ban on activities will be extended from July 14 to 17. The federation did not provide further explanation regarding its decision and did not clarify how holding training classes or chess competitions would hinder a "vibrant" presidential election. The struggles of Iranian sports from 1979 to today have been notable, particularly with the recent trend of Iranian female chess players, such as Sara Khademalsharieh and Mitra Hajizadeh, emigrating due to their refusal to comply with mandatory hijab regulations. Grandmaster Pouya Idani also emigrated to France last year due to issues including "difficulties accessing main chess websites." Other prominent players like Alireza Firouzja in France and Atousa Pourkashiyan in the U.S. are no longer part of the Iranian national team after previously emigrating. Since the fall of 1979, many sports in Iran have faced financial and political constraints, leading to the temporary suspension of chess, fencing, boxing, tennis, and several martial arts, as well as all women’s sports, under the pretext of being "un-Islamic, forbidden, and tyrannical."