Israel marks International Human Solidarity Day through chess

Through these sorts of events, Israeli chess players have been able to compete against opponents from Bhutan, Morocco and Libya.

Israeli chess players take part in a special chess tournament marking Israel's 70th anniversary at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, April 30, 2018. (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)
Israeli chess players take part in a special chess tournament marking Israel's 70th anniversary at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, April 30, 2018.
(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)

A global chess event will be hosted on International Human Solidarity Day, organized by Israeli chess club Chess4All's Chess4Solidarity campaign.

On International Human Solidarity Day this coming Monday, December 20, the event plans to encourage cultural dialogue, promote tolerance and bring online participants - from beginners to experts - from around the world to the event, including those from Arab countries and Iran. Participation in the event is absolutely free.

There are about 600 expected participants from all over the world. Invitations are in seven different languages, including Hebrew, Spanish, French, English, Russian, Arabic and Persian, and have been distributed worldwide.  

The director of the project, Lior Eisenberg, stated, "we are happy to hold another global event that will connect participants from all over the world through an international language that is chess.

The opening ceremony at Zoom will take place on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

 Chess4Solidarity chess match between Israelis and CUbans (credit: Courtesy)
Chess4Solidarity chess match between Israelis and CUbans (credit: Courtesy)

Last month, the Chess4All organization had a competition with its Cuban counterpart, where some 200 Israelis and Cubans faced each other in competitive matches through the Israeli chess club's Chess4Solidarity campaign.

The Chess4Solidarity tournaments have been celebrated by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and organizations such as UNESCO. Another tournament last month hosted the Chess4Solidarity campaign in honor of The International Day of Tolerance. The tournament, like the others, was held virtually and had over 500 participants worldwide.

Through these sorts of events, Israeli chess players have been able to compete against opponents from Bhutan, Morocco, Libya and other countries.