Chess players become pawns in Falklands diplomatic row

English federation protests at tournament to be held in ‘Puerto Argentino’, invading army’s name for Stanley

BRITAIN’S decades-long row with Argentina over the Falkland Islands is playing out in the least likely of forums – the civil world of chess.

A confrontation is brewing over a decision by the Argentine Chess Federation (ACF) to host a tournament on the islands and list the location as “Puerto Argentino” – the name given to Stanley, the capital, by Argentine troops when they occupied it for 10 weeks during the war in 1982.

Staged in a hotel near a memorial to Margaret Thatcher, it has prompted an uproar among the English Chess Federation (ECF), which has accused Argentina of a “diplomatic provocation”, and ignited lingering tensions.

World Chess Federation (FIDE) chiefs have been called in to settle the dispute, which centres on claims over the sovereignty of the sparsely-populated British overseas territory.

The Argentine government-backed body’s involvement came to light last month when it asked world chess chiefs to recognise the tournament as a ranking event.

They are said to have staged a similar event on the Falkland Islands last year.

In a letter to the world federation, the English governing body said: “The English Chess Federation administers chess activity in British Overseas Territories who are not members of FIDE in their own right. We view the staging of these clandestine tournaments as an unacceptable breach of our jurisdiction. The activity is also a diplomatic provocation.”

The ECF urged FIDE to “make clear to the Argentine Chess Federation that such activity is unacceptable”.

Mark Pollard, a member of the legislative assembly for Stanley, described the chess tournament as “deeply troubling” and said: “Sport should not be made to carry a political agenda.

“The Falkland Islands is not the sovereign territory or property of Argentina, despite their persistent false claims to the contrary,” he added, in a letter to the world governing body.

‘The assertion that these tournaments took place in Argentina is a serious affront to our human rights’

“We are a self-governed British Overseas Territory and the assertion that these tournaments officially took place in ‘Argentina’ is a serious affront to our fundamental human rights under the Charter of the United Nations.”

Nigel Short MBE, a vice-president of FIDE, said he thought the Argentinians had been “trying to score some propaganda points in their own country”.

He told The Sunday Telegraph: “They have had the best part of the month to make their position clear, but they have said almost nothing other than stating that they played the tournament in Puerto Argentino, which I think is a name that was briefly in use ... during the Falklands War.”

Mario Petrucci, the Argentine chess president, and vice-president Sergio Slipak did not respond to The Telegraph request for comment.