I hope someone out there understands what went on with this chess tournament in Karabakh. The Petrosian Memorial recently finished in Stepanakert, Karabakh. I can't say exactly where that is, which seems to be the problem. This story at an Azerbaijani news page doesn't help much. Apparently the Azerbaijanis are annoyed that a Georgian played in an Armenian tournament because it was being played in a region that is claimed by both Azerbaijan and Armenia. Got that? (More on the conflict here.)
FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov apparently warned the Armenians that the tournament wouldn't be recognized. 21-year-old Georgian GM Jobava was caught in the middle of all this and has been punished by his national federation (although I somehow doubt he will really be forbidden from playing, as if that were possible).
I bet if the Armenians were putting up, say, 1.5 million dollars for a FIDE event Ilyumzhinov would have no trouble overlooking any troublesome political issues.
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