UPDATE: Correction & Clarification [11/15/16]: Nazi Paikdize objects via email and on Twitter to a previous version of this article entitled: “US Chess Champion Behind Iran Hijab Boycott Comes Out for Trump.”
Enough is enough. I'm really sick and tired of the media manipulating the public for clicks. My email to the author from @heatstreet pic.twitter.com/DzSPp2ONvI
— Nazi Paikidze-Barnes (@NaziPaiki) November 15, 2016
While Ms. Paikdize’s tweets (as well as retweets of posts mocking liberals for being upset about Donald Trump’s election) initially appeared to Heat Street supportive of Trump, we acknowledge based on this statement from her that the original headline did not represent her views accurately. We have updated the headline and text of this article accordingly.
—
The US female chess champion who shot to fame after boycotting Iran for insisting she compete in a hijab has expressed hope for a successful Donald Trump presidency.
Nazi Paikdize, the reigning US women’s world champion, went viral for her impassioned response to chess bosses who booked Tehran to host the women’s world championship.
Paikidze said she would rather sacrifice her own career than put up with compulsory laws that would control what she could wear.
She briefly became a liberal darling for her stance championing women’s rights – though some dubbed her a “white savior” and Islamophobe.
Paikdize, an immigrant from Georgia, the small nation on the Russian border, had kept quiet about politics during the campaign.
But since the dust settled on last week’s election she has been expressing hope for our nation to “come together” for a successful Trump presidency.
The day after he was elected she wrote of her hopes American would “come together” behind Trump:
https://twitter.com/NaziPaiki/status/796263736432431104
She then shared a series of posts mocking over-the-top reactions from Hillary supporters, including this one:
Accurate representation of America right now pic.twitter.com/PNhFiVXe0L
— Shane Jam (@FourScore64) November 10, 2016
And a viral infographic comparing “liberal fearmongering” about Trump with “reality”:
Given Paikidze’s own links with Russia, her apparent optimism about the Trump-Putin bromance is particularly striking.
Meanwhile, Paikdize’s campaign against the Iranian chess competition continues, though the pace of signatures on her Change.org petition has slowed significantly.
According to a report from sports site Inside the Games, any chances of the world chess federation backing down seem increasingly slim.
Thanks for sharing @AsraNomani: I'm a Muslim, a woman and an immigrant. I voted for Trump. https://t.co/HeF1l5wR2C
— Nazi Paikidze-Barnes (@NaziPaiki) November 10, 2016
On a recent visit to Tehran, the organization’s president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov endorsed Iran’s compulsory hijab law, and said that chess players should put up with it.
He said: “There are 188 members in FIDE, each of them has the right to hold chess competitions. All these countries have their own laws and customs, under which the tournaments are held.
“FIDE adheres to the belief that these laws should be respected.”
