Turkish Champion Says She Was Dropped By Federation After Pregnancy

Turkish Women's Champion and WGM Kubra Ozturk Orenli says her federation terminated her monthly salary and dropped her from the national team once they found out that she was pregnant.

Ozturk Orenli gave birth to her second child this summer, but the start of the pregnancy came with an unexpected battle with her national federation. Just a month after she discovered she was expecting, a board member from Turkish Chess Federation called her, not only to congratulate her on the pregnancy but to inform her that she was no longer a part of their plans.

"They quickly changed the subject," she tells Chess.com. "They told me something along the lines of “raise your children first, then we’ll think about the rest."

Ozturk Orenli is a two-time European youth champion, a runner-up in the World Women's Junior Chess Championship, and has been one of Turkey's strongest women for a decade, representing her country in seven Olympiads. She is currently rated 2265, making her the second-highest-rated woman in a nation where chess has become increasingly popular in the last two decades.

The 32-year-old intended to continue playing chess at the highest level during her pregnancy, but instead, she realized that the federation had dropped her from both the European Woman's Championship and the European Team Championship. In addition, the Turkish Chess Federation terminated her monthly salary, a decision made without consulting her.

"When I heard the news I was shocked and I couldn’t recover for one to two months after that. I questioned the reason, but I couldn’t figure it out by myself," she tells Chess.com.

She says that the decision was made without consulting with her, and less than a month after the federation learned about her second pregnancy.

"That first call was about convincing me not to play. It almost felt like they had a decision and they were behind that decision. Even if I clearly expressed that I wanted to play, they didn’t hear me."

Ozturk Orenli says she tried for months to get in touch with the President of the Turkish Chess Federation Gulkiz Tulay through phone calls, messages, and emails.

Ozturk Orenli eventually got to meet Gulkiz Tulay during a tournament. Her requests to take part in important international events during her pregnancy were repeated but ignored by the federation, she says.

"During the meeting, I expressed my desire to participate in the European Championship for women this year and inquired why I had not received any offers. It was argued that it would not be suitable for me to go pregnant. I repeated my request and offered to cover the expenses of my baby and caregiver, and I also emphasized the importance of this tournament for me, but nothing was done."

It was argued that it would not be suitable for me to go pregnant.
—Kubra Ozturk Orenli 

The newly created Women in Chess Foundation has issued a statement in support of Ozturk. "Discrimination against pregnant women is not acceptable," the statement reads.

WICF's Statement on the Treatment of WGM Kübra Öztürk Örenli pic.twitter.com/LvtMuwk4Dr

— Women in Chess Foundation (@womeninchess) October 20, 2023

Turkish Chess Federation denies all allegations

The Turkish Chess Federation responded to Chess.com's questions a few days after this story was published. They had previously issued a statement in English on X/Twitter "to correct inaccuracies".

The federation denies all Ozturk Orenli's claims and calls them "unfounded and entirely unacceptable to us.". Her salary was not terminated due to prenancy, and she has not been removed from the national team, the federation says.

"Because of the lack of country representation in this context, her incentive reward
was discontinued in line with the legal regulations of the Turkish Chess Federation."

"This perception has been formed solely by the player’s own personal viewpoint. The
allegation is unfounded and cannot be accepted by our federation."

They also deny the claims about Ozturk Orenli being told "it is for your own good".

"It is a subjective evaluation of our player and does not reflect reality."

Asked what message they want to send to women who want to start a family while being professional chess players, the response is:

"We fully support all our professional female chess players, including WGM Kübra Öztürk
Örenli. The ascent of Turkish chess in recent years bears a distinct female imprint. The
Turkish Chess Federation is an organization with a substantial number of female executives
and staff members. For the first time in Türkiye, our board of directors includes six female
members out of fifteen, including the chairperson. One-third of our staff are women, all of
whom are mothers."

The previous statement by Turkish Chess Federation said:

Dear @chess24com

WGM Kübra Öztürk Örenli's allegations are not true! 'The chess player was not included in the national team due to pregnancy, was not sent to tournaments, and therefore her scholarship was cut' is not even a matter of discussion. We are sharing the statement of… pic.twitter.com/2nMpk6SdSL

— Türkiye Satranç Federasyonu (@TurkishChess) October 21, 2023

None of our athletes have been 'expelled from the national team' or not sent to tournaments. Anybody who does not participate to the national team for whatever team is not necessarily expelled from the national team.

Our athletes in the national team receive "incentives" with the terms approved by the TCF General Assembly. Our dear WGM's situation has been handled in accordance with the regulations and our player has received incentives until January 2023. She has been informed in our conversations that her 'incentives' will resume by January 2024.

If our players feels "an emotional resentment and if there is a misunderstanding", our federation will take action that is required and some people will not be allowed to take advantage of this situation.

Another statement was released by Gulkiz Tulay on X/Twitter.

7 yaşından beri tanıdığım, büyümesine tanıklık ettiğim, nikah şahitliğini büyük bir mutlulukla yaptığım sevgili sporcumuz Kübra Öztürk’ün ‘belirttiği nedenler’in duygusal yoğunlukla yazılmış olduğunu, en kısa sürede varsa yanlış anlaşılmaların ve duygusal kırgınlığın… https://t.co/Klyu7ule7f

— Gülkız TULAY (@GlkzTulay) October 20, 2023

I believe our dear player Kubra Ozturk, whom I have known since the age of 7, of whom I witnessed growing up, of whom I have been a marriage withness with great happiness has written "the reasons she has stated" with emotional intensity and I belive the resentments or misunderstandings, if there are any, will be resolved as soon as possible. I am actually only at a distance of a phone call to all our members including Kübra. Speaking to us instead of writing the problems would have eased the solution. You are our dear WGM and an important member of our community. 

Winning Olympiad medal while 9 months pregnant

In the chess world, there are several examples of players competing while pregnant. GM Harika Dronavalli made headlines when she played for India in the Chess Olympiad in Chennai in 2022 while 36 weeks pregnant. The Indian superstar even scored a bronze medal, not losing a single of her seven games.

"To be honest, I never really felt it was a very big thing, because for me it was very important to play the Olympiad. I have always been a part of the team consistently for all the years, and I wanted to see the medal for India, I wanted to be there too with the team," she told ChessBase India.

A long list of athletes have competed while pregnant at the highest level in far more athletic sports than chess. In an IOC report released in 2016, 16 experts concluded that it's completely safe for athletes to keep training and competing as they were before, as long as they adapt to the needs of their own body as it changes. 

“This is individual and depends on sports,” Kari Bo, a professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and one of the report’s authors, said, according to Time Magazine. “For example, a rhythmic gymnast would probably not be able to continue with back bending after their first trimester, while someone who participates in orienteering would be able to walk or jog in the forest until birth.”

Ozturk Orenli on chasing IM and GM title

Ozturk Orenli has all intentions to continue playing chess at the highest level and is critical to the lack of support for promising female chess players in the country.

"They have been distanced from chess for absurd reasons, leading to the cutting of financial and moral support for equally absurd reasons. I will never be added to the list of these increasing number of athletes, and I will resist this to the very end," she says.

"As Kubra Ozturk Orenli, I rejected the federation's and officials' idea of sitting at home, raising your child, and then coming back to chess, and I played in the chess leagues this year with my two children. Just as yesterday, I will continue to be part of the chess community today."

The woman grandmaster says her goal is to become the first Turkish-born female IM and GM.

"Even if the federation does not help and I cannot find sponsors, I am willing to spend all my savings for this goal and will work with all my might to achieve it."

[Update October 21: Added statement by the Turkish Chess Federation in English]

[Update October 23: Added Turkish Chess Federation's response to Chess.com's questions]