Candidates controversy: Alireza Firouzja claims arbiter told him ‘not to walk anymore during game’, change shoes for next game

Candidates controversy: There was massive controversy in Toronto during Round 9 of the Candidates chess tournament after one of the contenders, Alireza Firouzja, claimed he was told by the arbiter to stop walking during games because “his shoes were making a lot of noise.”

The Iran-born, French grandmaster posted a series of tweets right after his game against the open category leader Ian Nepomniachtchi ended in a draw on Monday morning.

Firouzja also claimed the arbiter had asked him to wear a different pair of shoes in the next round. He said that the arbiter’s words had made him lose focus.

What happened in Alireza Firouzja vs Ian Nepomniachtchi game?

Nepo was in trouble during the game at the Candidates, but escaped to hold on to a draw. The result kept him in the joint lead along with Indian teenager Gukesh after nine rounds.

“Shameful action by the chief arbiter Marghetis towards me during the game. Middle of the game in the most intense moment when I was walking during Ian’s move, chief aribiter came to me and told me to not walk anymore because my shoe is making noise on the wooden floor. He told me to not walk and bring new shoes for tomorrow but I have the formal shoe that is approved and am wearing it for more than 1 year. This was a big distraction for me during the game and I completely lost my focus. I told one of the organiser this arbiter needs to be punished,” Firouzja tweeted.

He went on to claim that he was being targetted.

“Honestly all these unprofessional things are happening to me in almost every tournament and really its taking me to point of exhaustion,” he added.

The incident reminded social media users of the infamous incident where Anna-Maja Kazarian was asked to change her sneakers and was fined 100 euros by FIDE at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship.

Responding to a social media user on what kind of shoes he was wearing, Firouzja said: “Its a normal, formal men’s shoes. In the women section they are wearing high heels and no action by arbiter.”

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.