Iran’s top-rated chess champion has decided not to play for his country, Iranian news agencies reported on Tuesday, in an apparent reaction to Tehran’s ban on competing against Israeli players.

The World Chess Federation has barred Saudi Arabia from hosting the next world championship because it won't let Israelis enter the country to participate.

Tunisia could lose the right to host world chess championships after refusing to grant a visa to a 7-year-old Israeli chess champion.

Liel Levitan, who just turned 7, beat the other 13 competitors in her Girls U7 category at the 2018 championships in Krakow.

Once again, politics and hate have found their way into competitive sports at the expense of Israel.

The southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva holds a world record of number of chess grandmasters per capita, with one in 20,000.

An Iranian chess grandmaster refused to compete against an Israeli player at a tournament in Switzerland this week.