Last night (Wednesday) a special international online chess event to commemorate the Holocaust was held in the presence of about 100 participants from Israel and various Arab countries such as Sudan, Morocco, Indonesia, Abu Dhabi and other countries that are not in relations with Israel as part of the Chess4Solidarity project.
The unique event included live testimony from Holocaust survivor Sami Steigman, who went on to give thousands of motivational lectures over the years. Sami, currently living in New York, is also a chess player in his distant past when in his youth in Romania and was only 2 wins away from achieving the rank of master of chess.
During the event Sammy competed against 14 participants online using the Lichess platform with the help of Zoom.
The minister of Civil and Social Affairs at the Ministry of Defense and Strategic Affairs Michael Biton delivered a statement during the opening ceremony: 'During difficult times, when knowingly Antisemitic and ignorant people dare to raise their heads around the world, while the survivors among us are dwindling, such events are so important, in order to keep the vow to remember and never forget'.
Savyon Council Chairman Moti Landau: 'We are proud of the chess activities of the 'Chess4All' club in Savyon and are pleased to be part of this unique international commemorative event. We are proud to support the Chess4Solidarity initiative aimed at strengthening solidarity between people'.
'I want to thank all the participants from around the world, my partners and the Elitzur Center', stated Lior Aizenberg, the director of the project and the director of the 'Chess4All' club. 'We are excited to continue our mission and we invite everyone to join us in connecting countries playing the game of chess'.