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{"id":7279,"date":"2021-05-18T06:42:15","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T06:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lossi36.com\/?p=7279"},"modified":"2023-03-15T12:12:39","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T12:12:39","slug":"may-in-russia-checkers-flag-drama-reveals-rocs-true-colours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lossi36.com\/2021\/05\/18\/may-in-russia-checkers-flag-drama-reveals-rocs-true-colours\/","title":{"rendered":"May in Russia: checkers flag drama reveals ROC\u2019s true colours"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><strong>The situation could hardly have been more tense. After a series of gruelling early exchanges, neither party was prepared to concede an inch. Then, in a twist that no one saw coming, Jacek Pawlicki broke the deadlock. Despite being<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/apr\/29\/draughts-match-nearly-triggers-diplomatic-incident-between-poland-and-russia\"> \u201cafraid\u201d<\/a>, the Polish official struck decisively,<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GazetaRu\/status\/1387312074552971269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1387312074552971269%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2021%2Fapr%2F29%2Fdraughts-match-nearly-triggers-diplomatic-incident-between-poland-and-russia\"> capturing the Russian flag<\/a> and then exiting stage left before anyone at the table had the chance to stop him. That his move initially went undetected says less about Pawlicki\u2019s swiftness of foot than it does about the superhuman levels of concentration required to achieve success at this, the most elite level of competitive draughts.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stunned by Pawlicki\u2019s audacious swoop, and with the red, white and blue flag no longer by her side, the usually unflappable seven-time Women\u2019s World Draughts Champion <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tamara Tansykkuzhin<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a from the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan, was thrown completely off her game. Across the table, her opponent, Poland\u2019s<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/_natalia_sadowska\/?hl=en\"> <b>Natalia Sadowska<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, herself a gold medallist in 2016 and 2018, remained unmoved. Taking full advantage of the confusion, Sadowska kept her cool to win the game, storming into a 32-16 lead in the match, and edging ever closer to the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mecz21.warcaby.pl\/\"> <b>54 points<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> required for a victory that would have her crowned champion in her home city of Warsaw, where the final was taking place.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"ru\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\u041d\u0430 \u0432\u0438\u0434\u0435\u043e \u0444\u043b\u0430\u0433 \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0438 \u0443\u0431\u0440\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u043f\u0440\u044f\u043c\u043e \u0432\u043e \u0432\u0440\u0435\u043c\u044f \u043c\u0430\u0442\u0447\u0430 \u043c\u0438\u0440\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0447\u0435\u043c\u043f\u0438\u043e\u043d\u0430\u0442\u0430 \u043f\u043e \u0448\u0430\u0448\u043a\u0430\u043c. \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u044f\u043d\u043a\u0430 \u0422\u0430\u043c\u0430\u0440\u0430 \u0422\u0430\u043d\u0441\u044b\u043a\u043a\u0443\u0436\u0438\u043d\u0430 \u044d\u0442\u043e\u043c\u0443 \u0443\u0434\u0438\u0432\u0438\u043b\u0430\u0441\u044c, \u043d\u043e \u0434\u0430\u043b\u044c\u0448\u0435 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0434\u043e\u043b\u0436\u0438\u043b\u0430 \u0438\u0433\u0440\u0443.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u0412\u044b\u044f\u0441\u043d\u0438\u043b\u043e\u0441\u044c, \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0442\u0430\u043a \u0438\u0441\u043f\u043e\u043b\u043d\u0438\u043b\u0438 \u0440\u0435\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0434\u0430\u0446\u0438\u0438 \u0412\u0410\u0414\u0410. \u0415\u0441\u043b\u0438 \u0431\u044b \u044d\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e \u043d\u0435 \u0441\u0434\u0435\u043b\u0430\u043b\u0438, \u0442\u043e \u0412\u0441\u0435\u043c\u0438\u0440\u043d\u0443\u044e \u043e\u0440\u0433\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0437\u0430\u0446\u0438\u044e \u0448\u0430\u0448\u0435\u043a \u043c\u043e\u0433\u043b\u0438 \u0438\u0441\u043a\u043b\u044e\u0447\u0438\u0442\u044c. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bMEWwe5rEG\">pic.twitter.com\/bMEWwe5rEG<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u2014 \u0413\u0430\u0437\u0435\u0442\u0430.Ru (@GazetaRu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GazetaRu\/status\/1387312074552971269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 28, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might have expected the story to end there. But, before the day was over, what had begun as a clumsy attempt to comply with official tournament protocol threatened to spiral out of control. First, the president of Russia\u2019s Olympic committee weighed in, describing Pawlicki\u2019s seizure of the Russian flag in the heat of battle as a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/apr\/29\/draughts-match-nearly-triggers-diplomatic-incident-between-poland-and-russia\"> <b>\u201cgross mistake\u201d<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It was only a matter of time before Kremlin spokesman<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/apr\/29\/draughts-match-nearly-triggers-diplomatic-incident-between-poland-and-russia\"> <b>Dmitry Peskov<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> also felt compelled to speak out. Peskov had no doubt that the Polish official\u2019s untimely intervention was solely responsible for <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tansykkuzhin<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a losing the game.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>Polish Solidarity Movement<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With tempers reaching boiling point, and five of the nine days required to complete the final still left to play, both finalists<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mecz21.warcaby.pl\/day-5\/\"> <b>returned to the table<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the following morning. Fortunately, Natalia Sadowska\u2019s next move was an astute one. In an act of solidarity with her Russian opponent, she removed her own Polish flag from the match table, restoring calm to proceedings and levelling the playing field once more. An official apology from the Polish authorities soon followed. To the relief of all involved, not least Jacek Pawlicki, Kremlin spokesman Peskov accepted that this meant the issue had now<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-56927758\"> <b>\u201cbeen settled\u201d<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. With <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">order restored, Tansykkuzhin<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a regained her composure, launching an audacious comeback in the match to overhaul Sadowska\u2019s advantage and take the coveted world title once again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Played on a board of 10 x 10 alternating dark and light squares, with a relatively small repertoire of moves available to each player,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/International_draughts\"> <b>draughts<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, also known as checkers, is, like politics, largely a game of strategy. Yet unlike its glamorous cousin chess, which provides the backdrop to the hit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insider.com\/queens-gambit-true-story-us-russia-chess-rivalry-cold-war-2020-12\"> <b>Cold-War<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-inspired Netflix series<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CDrieqwSdgI\"> <b>\u2018The Queen\u2019s Gambit\u2019<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, draughts has rarely been the subject of international headlines or political intrigue. So why was this mid-match flag grab during a relatively obscure board game of any concern to Russia\u2019s top brass?<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>Crime and Punishment\u00a0<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It all stems back to December 2019, when the Executive Committee of the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) handed Russia a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wada-ama.org\/en\/media\/news\/2019-12\/wada-executive-committee-unanimously-endorses-four-year-period-of-non-compliance\"> <b>four-year suspension<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from international sporting events as punishment for a decade-long state-sponsored<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/1635299880075336\/?multi_permalinks=3018857715052872&amp;notif_id=1620801587693667&amp;notif_t=group_activity&amp;ref=notif\"> <b>doping campaign<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> designed to help its athletes achieve glory at the highest level. A year later, following an appeal, the case reached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Although CAS supported WADA\u2019s findings, it<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/12\/17\/947504052\/russia-suspended-from-next-2-olympic-games-over-anti-doping-violations?t=1620721780234\"> <b>decided<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to reduce the length of Russia\u2019s ban to just two years. At first glance, the ruling seemed clear; no Russian team would be allowed to take part in any major international sporting events until the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport\/olympics\/55349156#:~:text=Russia's%20ban%20from%20all%20major,2022%20World%20Cup%20in%20Qatar.\"> <b>end of 2022,<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a period which notably includes the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, CAS\u2019 ruling left plenty of room for manoeuvre. Although \u2018Russia\u2019 will have to sit out this summer\u2019s Olympics, Russian athletes can still take part, provided they adhere to some rather malleable additional regulations. First, instead of openly representing Russia, they will compete under the supposedly neutral name<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/olympics\/story\/_\/id\/30928939\/russia-new-team-name-roc-flag-agreed-next-2-olympic-games\"> <b>\u2018ROC\u2019<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, an acronym of \u2018Russian Olympic Committee\u2019, a disguise perhaps even less convincing than the unmarked uniforms worn by the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TNKsLlK52ss\"> <b>\u2018Little Green Men\u2019<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sent to annex Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second, they won\u2019t be able to hear the Russian national anthem at any venues where the games are being held. Instead, after the International Olympic Committee refused to accept patriotic Soviet-era folk song<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidethegames.biz\/articles\/1105346\/russian-olympic-committee-katyusha-cas\"> <b>\u2018Katyusha\u2019<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as a replacement, ROC athletes will have to settle for listening to<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rferl.org\/a\/russia-olympics-anthem-tchaikovsky-doping-ban-tokyo-beijing\/31217728.html#:~:text=Russia's%20Olympic%20Committee%20(ROC)%20says,2022%20Winter%20Olympics%20in%20Beijing.&amp;text=Russia%20is%20also%20barred%20from%20hosting%20international%20events%20for%20two%20years.\"> <b>Tchaikovsky\u2019s<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.1 on the podium, should they win gold in Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it\u2019s the third of these restrictions that best explains the dramatic events which took place during that draughts showdown between Sadowska and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tansykkuzhin<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a in Warsaw: CAS, under the influence of WADA, also banned the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidethegames.biz\/articles\/1106626\/russia-uniform-tokyo-2020-criticism\"> <b>Russian flag<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from appearing at all major sporting events during the period of the suspension. Whether the World Draughts Final can be credibly considered a \u2018major\u2019 event is, of course, highly debatable. Nevertheless, it was the fear of facing the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/apr\/29\/draughts-match-nearly-triggers-diplomatic-incident-between-poland-and-russia\"> <b>wrath of WADA<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, who had<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/apr\/29\/draughts-match-nearly-triggers-diplomatic-incident-between-poland-and-russia\"> <b>\u201crequested action\u201d<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tansykkuzhin<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a\u2019s illegal Russian tricolour that drove the Polish official to take matters, and the flag, into his own hands.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>Tangled Up in Red, White and Blue<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While it would be easy to dismiss the whole draughts affair as nothing more than a storm in a teacup, it\u2019s worth considering what might happen should a similar incident occur in front of a much greater audience at this summer\u2019s Olympic games in Tokyo. After all, when it comes to prestigious sporting events like the Olympics, there is no more <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidethegames.biz\/articles\/1106626\/russia-uniform-tokyo-2020-criticism\"><b>important symbol<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for a country than its national flag.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1UduZnP_pqg\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if gold medals were being handed out for finding loopholes in the rules, surely ROC would already be crowned Olympic champions. Because although the Russian tricolour itself is forbidden, the red, white and blue colours of which it comprises remain free to appear at the games. With that in mind, the ROC put on a special<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stuff.co.nz\/sport\/other-sports\/124854199\/tokyo-2021-russia-reveal-controversial-olympic-uniforms-for-roc-athletes\"> <b>fashion show<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to reveal the team\u2019s new Olympic uniforms. The<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidethegames.biz\/articles\/1106626\/russia-uniform-tokyo-2020-criticism\"> <b>red, white and blue<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">outfits displayed on the catwalk left no doubt about who those wearing them will really be representing, with ROC chief Stanislav Pozdnyakov proudly announcing that the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stuff.co.nz\/sport\/other-sports\/124854199\/tokyo-2021-russia-reveal-controversial-olympic-uniforms-for-roc-athletes\"> <b>\u201cnational flag can be seen really obviously\u201d<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on the athletes\u2019<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">clothing.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No wonder Travis T. Tygart, CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), described the sentence as<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usada.org\/statement\/usada-ceo-statement-russia-cas-appeal-ruling\/\"> <b>\u201ca catastrophic blow\u2026 to the integrity of sport\u201d<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Days after her stunning victory in Warsaw, Tamara <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tansykkuzhin<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a arrived home in<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/COfn2B8iFWc\/\"> <b>Ufa<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, capital city of her native Bashkortostan. There was no shortage of Russian flags at the airport, as a crowd of well-wishers gathered to greet her. Amongst them was Shamil Valeev, co-chair of the Bashkortostan branch of the country\u2019s ruling coalition, the All Russia People\u2019s Front (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ru.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%D0%9E%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%84%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%82\"><b>ONF<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Speaking to<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/COuKGK3oXN3\/\"> <b>local news reporters<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Valeev praised <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tansykkuzhin<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a for showing \u201can example of how to properly defend the interests and dignity of our country.\u201d Later, on his personal<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/COeRbq6sNjo\/\"> <b>Instagram<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">account, he shared a picture of himself posing alongside the newly crowned Women\u2019s Draughts World Champion. The caption revealed that Valeev had also presented her with a very special gift; a commemorative Russian tricolour flag on behalf of \u201c#teamputin\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h6>Featured image: Capturing the flag \/ Gazeta.ru on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GazetaRu\/status\/1387312074552971269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1387312074552971269%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2021%2Fapr%2F29%2Fdraughts-match-nearly-triggers-diplomatic-incident-between-poland-and-russia\">Twitter<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The situation could hardly have been more tense. After a series of gruelling early exchanges, neither party was prepared to concede an inch. Then, in a twist that no one saw coming, Jacek Pawlicki broke the deadlock. Despite being \u201cafraid\u201d, the Polish official struck decisively, capturing the Russian flag and then exiting stage left before [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":7280,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oct_exclude_from_cache":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[983,4,18],"tags":[124],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-7279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial","category-politics","category-russia","tag-russia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>May in Russia: checkers flag drama reveals ROC\u2019s true colours - Lossi 36<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bringing you news, analysis, and photography from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. 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