Chess grandmaster booted after racist 'ban all Chinese' rant exposed

A chess grandmaster from the nation of Georgia has been partially banned from Chess.com's prize ceremonies after he was caught in a racist tirade outside of a tournament, reported The Daily Beast on Tuesday.

"The grandmaster, Baadur Jobava, launched into the rant last Friday after losing to Xiangyu Xu, a Chinese grandmaster, at a qualifier for the Airthings Masters, according to Esports.gg," reported A.J. McDougall. "In footage of a conversation between Jobava and a moderator that surfaced on Reddit that day, the Georgian player can be heard saying, 'This b*tch f*cked up. Ban all Chinese too. These motherf*ckers. Not right. Call them. Not right.'"

According to the report, Jobava proceeded to accuse Xu, a member of the Chinese Chess Olympic Team, of cheating, and attacked Chess.com for not taking action, while they "just sit and commentating bullsh*t."

Jobava's ban applies to "all prize events" in 2023, per Chess.com's announcement.

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According to Chessarena.com, a site that covers chess competitions, Jobava could potentially face additional investigation from the game's governing body.

"Racism is a serious ethics violation, regardless of the fact that the event is private," said the report. "A legal expert who works with FIDE, the chess governing body, explains that FIDE Ethics Commission will be in the position to investigate matters such as this one if the offended party, his or her chess federation, or an official FIDE body files an official complaint with the Commission. Concerned parties can also address the FIDE Council, the top governing body of FIDE. The Council may take this case to the Ethics Commission as well."