'No Chess On Dead Planet': Activists Dump 2025 Kg Coal Outside Tata Steel Chess Tournament Venue | Netherlands

Netherlands: The Tata Steel Chess Tournament was briefly halted on Saturday after climate activists blocked the entry to the venue in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, during the opening weekend of the event. Members of Extinction Rebellion Nederland dumped 2,025 kilograms of coal at the entrance. The group said the action was aimed at drawing attention to Tata Steel's environmental record and opposing what it described as "sportswashing".

In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Extinction Rebellion Nederland wrote, "Today we are blocking the entrance of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Rebels are dumping 2,025 kilograms of coal, using lock-ons, and hanging a banner reading: 'No Chess on a Dead Planet.' 2025 is the year by which Tata Steel was supposed to become climate neutral. Tata Steel welcomes chess grandmasters while causing brain damage in children. The company is the largest lead emitter in the Netherlands. Children in Wijk aan Zee are growing up under toxic fumes. Lead is always harmful. Tata Steel emits 11.3 megatonnes of CO₂ every year, accounting for 8 percent of the Netherlands' total emissions. The real emissions are higher than what the company reports. The societal damage amounts to more than one billion euros per year. Life expectancy in Wijk aan Zee is 2.5 months shorter. The tournament is sportswashing."

The organisers of the tournament said on the official tournament website that they postponed the start of the play on Saturday to ensure the safety of players, visitors and staff.

In an appeal to the climate activists, the organisers wrote, "The organisation of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament respects the right to demonstrate and the freedom to express opinions. At the same time, the tournament is an international sporting and cultural event that brings together players, visitors and chess fans from around the world. We kindly call on all parties to respect the tournament, its participants and its visitors, and to ensure that the event can proceed safely and undisturbed for everyone involved."

The tournament started after a lengthy delay. CEO of Tata Steel Netherlands Hans van den Berg apologised to the players, noting, "Dear chess players, I have to apologize to you for the delay of one and a half hours. We had demonstrations outside of this building. The right to demonstrate is a very strong right that we have in the Netherlands, which we respect of course. We hope to have managed this as well as we can."

The tournament is featuring Indian Grandmasters, including Gukesh Dommaraju, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Aravindh Chitambaram. The ongoing edition is the 88th edition of the tournament.

Tata Steel's Dutch units are facing a lawsuit in the Netherlands that claims emissions from their operations have caused health-related damage.

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