Israel forfeits Chess Olympiad matches against Netherlands, Bulgaria; here's why

Israel's men and women teams forfeited their sixth-round matches against the Netherlands and Bulgaria at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand on Monday after both opponents declined requests to change the schedule for Yom Kippur.The Israeli men's team was due to face the Netherlands in the Open section, while the women's team was scheduled to play Bulgaria. However, neither team showed up at the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre, leaving two empty tables and handing their opponents 4-0 wins by forfeit. The Netherlands had world No. 10 Anish Giri on Board 1.According to a FIDE statement, as quotd by Hindustan Times, Israel had formally requested that Monday's matches either start after 7:30pm local time or be moved to Tuesday, the tournament's rest day.