Historic Agreement: No Hijab at the World Rapid and Blitz 2017
It will be for the first time in the history of any sporting event held in Saudi Arabia that the women will not be required to wear a hijab or an Abaya. This will be witnessed at the King Salman FIDE World Rapid and Blitz 2017 to be held in Riyadh from the 25th to 30th of December 2017. Apart from no hijab, the organizers have enforced a compulsory dress code for the event. The prize money is 350% more than that of the previous editions. Until now citizens of no country have been denied participation for the event. This is all looking quite positive and upbeat for the last major event of 2017.
Record prize money and a fixed dress code
Dress code for the event:
FIDE is pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with the Organisers that the dress code for the event will be dark blue or black formal suits, with white shirts, either open necked or with a tie. For men and dark blue or black formal trouser suits, with high necked white blouses for women.
There will be no need to wear a hijab or abaya during the games. This will be a first for any sporting event in Saudi Arabia.
Prize fund:
The total Prize Fund for the event is $2,000,000, with individual prize funds of $750,000 for the Open and $250,000 for the women in both rapid and blitz events. This is almost 350% more than the previous event. There will be 30 prizes for each event, with the first prize being $250,000 in the Open Section and $80,000 in the Women’s Section, all new records.
Visas:
With regards to visas, FIDE has raised with the Organisers that there may be problems for players from certain countries. FIDE has not been advised that any player will not be able to participate. FIDE is continuing to work with the Organisers to ensure that visas will be issued to all players who have confirmed their participation.
Source: Official FIDE website