Nigerians' Visas Denied in Germany!

"Germany Refuses Visas to Chess Players," Daily Trust, 27 August 2003 (Abuja, Nigeria).

The German Embassy has refused visas to four Nigerian chess players. The four, who were among the 12 selected for the training tour in Germany in preparation for the 8th All Africa Games, will now camp in Lagos, according to Theophilus Caiafas, President of the Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF).

"You know we just held an international chess demonstration ahead of Abuja 2003 and the four affected players competed at the event," he explained. Caiafas said that the players would be camped at the National Institute for Sports in Lagos until the scheduled return of Team Nigeria from the foreign tour on Sept. 19.

Editor's Note: It is very ironic that Germany would deny the visas around the time that the FIDE Presidential Board is meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. With the recent cancellation of the Ponomariov-Kasparov match, this adds further insult to injury and the chess world has hit a new low in terms of international respect.

Posted by The Chess Drum: 28 August 2003