Any thoughts that the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand would be a warm, fluffy get-together of the worldwide family of chess nations were immediately dispelled on Wednesday as the huge event kicked off with, you guessed it, a massive controversy.
Gens una sumus, this was not.
After a brief furore over unallocated hotel rooms, in which the Indian team complained the loudest, the real geopolitics arrived.
Pakistan started the first round by boycotting its scheduled match against Israel, handing the Israeli team a 4-0 walkover without a move being played.
The two nations were paired in Round 1 of the Open event in Samarkand, but none of Pakistan's four players appeared to contest their games. Tournament records listed all four boards as unplayed.
Chess Federation of Pakistan president Syed Zeeshan Naqvi subsequently confirmed that the decision was deliberate.
Pakistan does not recognise Israel and Naqvi said the federation could not play the match contrary to the government's position.
"We have boycotted the match to express solidarity with the Palestinian people," Naqvi said.
The decision does not mean Pakistan has withdrawn from the Olympiad. The team remains entered in the 11-round competition but has forfeited its opening match.
Pakistan and Israel were not paired at the previous Olympiad in Budapest in 2024. Pakistan does, however, have a recent history of political protest at the event, having withdrawn from the 2022 Chennai Olympiad on the eve of competition in a dispute with India over Kashmir.
Pakistan's Open team consists of FM Muhammad Waqar, FM Amer Karim, CM Mafaaz Khalid, Sohail Zaman and Shabkhez Zorez, with Raja Gauhar as captain.
The incident brings international politics immediately into an Olympiad already being played against a complicated geopolitical backdrop.
And Russia isn't even playing in this one.
Russian teams are absent after the Chess Federation of Russia was suspended by FIDE earlier this year, while the participation of national federations and the status of Russia have been prominent issues in the build-up to the event.
The 46th Chess Olympiad is taking place in Samarkand from September 16 to 27, with a record field of more than 200 teams in the Open competition.
For Pakistan, however, the first result of the Olympiad was a loss.