A rising young star in the chess world was left feeling “like a criminal” after breaking a trainer ban when she arrived for a game wearing a new pair of expensive canvas Burberries.
Anna-Maja Kazarian, 23, was fined $111 for wearing “strange shoes” during a tournament in Uzbekistan.
The rules specifically allow for “sneakers,” and Kazarian wants to know which sports chess bosses think she could play in her thin-soled casual shoes.
“It hurts to even walk in them and I definitely don't want to use my Burberry sneakers for exercise,” she said.
The young Dutch master who livestreams games to more than 34,000 followers on Twitch was one of 330 participants in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in the former Soviet republic.
Anna-Maja Kazarian, 23, showed her thousands of YouTube followers the 'sports shoes' that got her in trouble with the game's authorities
Russian grandmaster and tournament official Pavel Tregubov was unforgiving when she complained about the sanction
Kazarian demanded to know which sports chess bosses think she could play in her thin-soled Burberry casual shoes
She was halfway through a game when she noticed that the authorities were dissatisfied.
'I see a big yellow sign with official dress codes, it's a huge yellow sign that you just can't miss and I see it like a flash in the corner of my eye.
“And I already know it's going to be for me, because he's walking around and there's no way in those ten boards there's anyone else in there who's allegedly violating the dress code.
'During the game I think a lot about what's going on. What should I do if I get this warning?
Kazarian was halfway through her match when she saw the official warning out of the corner of her eye
'Am I going to change my shoes? How? Do I have to go to my room? Will I be excluded from the tournament?'
The row has once again shed light on FIDE, the game's governing body which was rocked by claims that American chess prodigy Hans Niemann used 'vibrating anal beads' to beat world number one Magnus Carlsen in 2022.
Niemann sued Carlsen for $100 million after the Norwegian repeated online rumors that he was told what to play via buzzes from a coach relayed to a sex toy hidden in his body.
“It must be embarrassing for the world champion to lose to me,” he told reporters.
'I feel sorry for him!'
He attributed a “ridiculous miracle” to his victory, claiming that he had seen a video of Carlsen using a similar game plan in a match four years earlier that morning.
The pair settled out of court, but the story had an unexpected afterlife this week when a champion of Xiangqi, the Chinese version of the game, was accused of using the technique to win the title of 'Xiangqi King' during a tournament in the country.
Kazarian was all smiles as she arrived in her boots for the day's game, unaware that she was about to run afoul of the game's authorities
Kazarian was Dutch women's internet chess champion in 2020 and was also European youth champion for girls under 16
Yan Chenglong (pictured, right) defecates in a hotel bathroom and is accused of using anal beads to cheat during China's Xiangqi Association match
Nineteen-year-old chess prodigy Hans Niemann previously declared he would play naked to prove doubters wrong after rumors suggested he could have used vibrating anal beads
The sport was thrown into turmoil on Monday when national champion Yan Chenglong was stripped of his title after being accused of defecating in a hotel bathroom.
“Yan drank alcohol together with others in his room on the night of the 17th, and then he defecated in the bathtub of the room where he stayed on the 18th,” China's Xiangqi Association said in a statement.
“An act that damaged hotel property, violated public order and morality, had a negative impact on the Xiangqi competition and event, and was of extremely bad character.”
“Based on our understanding of the situation, it is currently impossible to prove that Yan engaged in cheating via 'anal beads' as speculated on social media,” it added.
Chess fans on social media were quick to point out male players who have not been sanctioned for wearing sneakers.
“As a gym teacher, I can tell you that these are definitely not sneakers,” @chesslete tweeted.
“They're sneakers if you played in the NBA 60 years ago,” les miens miserables added.
The match shook up the chess world – after Niemann, a rising talent from San Francisco, unceremoniously defeated the Norwegian world at the prestigious Sinquefield Cup last year
“Not so much these days.”
Pavel Tregubov, FIDE's technical delegate to the tournament, apologized for the unrest and said the governing body plans to review the dress code.
“If she felt like a criminal, I'm very sorry,” he added.
“Usually the referees are shy,” he added. “It's not like in football.”