Indian Woman Grandmaster Priyanka Nutakki was expelled from the World Junior Chess Championship in Olbia, Italy for accidentally carrying wireless earbuds in her jacket pocket into the playing hall. During a routine check, one of the players, Nutakki, was found to have a pair of earbuds in her jacket pocket. While there is no indication of foul play on her part, earbuds are strictly forbidden at the playing hall.
Carrying these devices during a game is a violation of fair play policies, and it is penalised with the loss of the game and expulsion from the tournament. The point scored by Priyanka during the game was awarded to her rival, Govhar Beydullayeva. The Indian delegation filed an appeal, but the Appeals Committee reconfirmed the decision with no changes.
Priyanka commented that she had gone for a walk in the morning and taken her earbuds with her and left them in the jacket. She subconsciously took the same jacket for the tournament, completely forgetting about the earbuds. She only realised this when a random check occurred. She also said that she was following all the protocols and took her jacket with her during the security check but the security machine did not detect the metal and no alarm was raised. She also added that as per the rules she won't be allowed to continue the tournament but was apologetic to everyone and promises to come back stronger and better.
One question that remains unanswered is why were the players not checked before the beginning of the tournament and why couldn't the security detect the metal earbuds. A senior chess administrator said that Priyanka was very well aware of all the rules and aware about banned items in the game, it was certainly an unintended mistake on her part. Perhaps this is a lesson for everyone in the future.
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