After reading what he posted on his Facebook (
www.facebook.com/anton.kovalyov.1/posts/10210147282103699) i got very shocked. An agressive behavior like the one Zurab did show today can't be accepted, man!
For who does not know, Anton Kovalyov was forced to forfeit his game today cause he was wearing shorts. That's not the worse, the worse was that Kovalyov got treated like super bad, with racial insults.
Really, really disgusting.
@DarkMano Kovalyov actually left the tournament and hotel and has already booked his flight home according to Chess Base website. So his Israeli opponent gets a free ride into the 4th round.
What a disgrace on the part of FIDE (they let him wear shorts in the first two rounds)
Yep, but the most disgusting was Zurab, man. He does not have a good reputation.
Disgusting behavior by Zurab. He should be banned for life from organizing tournaments.
Anyway, this was a huge performance by Kovalev (he knocked out Anand in Round 2)! I hope he is not going to worry much about the behavior of mentally ill people be it Zurab or whoever else.
You can read my take in my thread. I am in complete disagreement with the views here. This was all premeditated. He contrived a situation so as to have an excuse to leave the tournament. He was not forfeited by the arbiters, simple told to change his shorts and return to the playing hall. It was his decision to forfeit and leave the tournament. He knew the dress code, knew the rules. The organizer admitted the arbiter made a mistake in allowing the shorts previously.
No, this was all staged. He was not a "victim". There were no racial insults. That is "fake news".
Kovalyov wanted out and contrived a ready made "excuse". A very childish one at that.
It simply does not make any sense for an Adult to walk out and leave the World Cup in the 3rd round over a pair of shorts.
We'll never know his "motives" but his intention is clear.
He wanted out of the tournament for whatever reason, but it was NOT that he was told he could not wear shorts. Of course he knew the rules.
Just read his facebook post. "Didn't bring pants because he had gained weight!" He's turned everything around into a "discrimination" issue, playing the racial card. His explanation sounds of "spoiled kid" who didn't get his way, so he left to tournament in protest, won't be treated in such a fashion. After all, he was allowed to wear shorts in the LAST event.
His main protest is that Zurab called him a "Gypsy" which he took as a racial slur. I'm, positive that was not the intention. I could see possibly something being said "dressing in shorts gives a gypsy like appearance" or something similar. We only get his side of the story. He plays the innocent "victim" having made no abusive comments. Kovalyov's childish facebook post says it all.
The OP blindly accepts Kovalyov's facebook explanation, shouts "disgusting".... hmmm
#6 Well, I agree that a lot of stuff in modern chess is staged. In particular, all the 'top chess events' featuring magnuses, caruanas, nakamuras, and other kasparovs all seem to be fixed, -- we cannot even imagine how, taking into account the amount of mentally ill people in the top of FIDE as well as the modern levels of corruption and technological abilities to cheat, how the events like that can involve the participation of honest people.
As to Kovalev, I am not sure it was written somewhere that shorts were disallowed to wear during the games. A decision not to play game 2 looks like he was seeking for an excuse, but a must-win situation against a 2700+ does not leave him a lot of a chance to go through anyway.
@heptagon "but a must-win situation against a 2700+ does not leave him a lot of a chance to go through anyway."
What are you talking about? He beat Anand (2782) last round...
#9 I mean that having been forfeited in game 1 today, he needs at least a win tomorrow to go through if he decides to keep participating.