<p class="content-excerpt">According to the tournament organizers, Amin Tabatabaei did it for fear of being punished by the Iranian authorities upon his return</p> <div class="components"> <p>Iranian chess grandmaster Amin Tabatabaei has refused to face Israeli competitor Netanel Levi, both age 21, at the Sunway International Chess Tournament, which is being held in the city of Sitges, Spain.&nbsp;</p> <p>According to the organizers of the tournament, the young champion threw the game for fear of being punished by the Iranian authorities on his return to the country.</p> <p>The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects Israel's right to exist and has banned its athletes from competing against Israelis in sports competitions.&nbsp;</p> <p>The president of the Berlin Chess Association, Paul Meyer-Dunker, called on Twitter for the International Chess Federation to take preventive measures against the boycott of Israeli players. “How long are you going to tolerate this? Will this hatred of our Israeli colleagues and the oppression of our Iranian colleagues one day have consequences for the Iranian Chess Federation?” he said.</p> <p><br></p> </div>