Shohreh Bayat (; born 1987) is an Iranian

chess arbiter In chess tournaments, an arbiter is an official who oversees matches and ensures that the rules of chess are followed. International Arbiter ''International Arbiter'' is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter ...

based in England. She was chief arbiter of the Women's World Chess Championship 2020. Bayat is an

International Arbiter In chess tournaments, an arbiter is an official who oversees matches and ensures that the rules of chess are followed. International Arbiter ''International Arbiter'' is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed capable of acting as arbiter ...

for

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

. She was awarded an

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

in 2021.

Early life and education

Bayat was born in 1987 in

Rasht Rasht (; ) is a city in the Central District (Rasht County), Central District of Rasht County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is also known as the "City of ...

, Iran. Her Jewish paternal grandmother emigrated to Iran from

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Azerbaijan during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. They kept their Jewish ancestry hidden. She became the Iranian girls under-12 champion in 1998, and won numerous national events including the 1st places of Iranian Women's Chess Festival, Iranian Junior Chess Championship, Iranian University students Championship, Iranian Blitz Chess Championship, and second place of Iranian Rapid Chess Championship. In 2017, she was appointed as the General Secretary of Iran Chess Federation. She was the first female General Secretary of a sport federation in Iran. Bayat completed a master's degree in natural resources engineering and has published scientific articles in "Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences" and "Arabian Journal of Geosciences" on using satellite images and analysis of vegetation indices in relation to tree species diversity. She also has a published article in the 1st International Conference of IALE iran.

Career

Deputy Secretary Sherman Meets With International Women of Courage Awardee Shohreh Bayat

At the age of 25, Bayat began a career as a chess arbiter with the

. Bayat is one of the first Grade A arbiters from Asia and was a prominent figure in Iran's chess scene. She served as the chief arbiter of the Women's World Chess Championship 2020 (WWCC). A photograph of Bayat at the WWCC with her hijab around her neck generated controversy in Iran which enforces a strict Islamic dress code. The requested Bayat take a replacement picture wearing a hijab and issue an apology through

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. Bayat refused because she believes compulsory laws mandating wearing hijabs are

misogynistic Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practis ...

. In September 2020, she received confirmation from FIDE that she could referee under the English flag. The list of FIDE events at which she has officiated as an Arbiter are very extensive. Some of the most important ones are: * Chief Arbiter of the Women’s World Championship Final 2020 * Deputy Chief Arbiter in the Women’s World Chess Championship 2018 *Deputy Chief Arbiter in the Women’s World Chess Championship 2017 *Deputy Chief Arbiter in the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship 2021 * Deputy Chief Arbiter in the FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship 2021 * Deputy Chief Arbiter FIDE Women’s Candidate 2020 * Deputy Chief Arbiter World Junior Chess Championship 2017 * Deputy Chief Arbiter World Senior Team Chess Championship 2017 * Sector Arbiter of the World Youth Rapid and Blitz 2018 * Sector Arbiter of the World Youth Rapid and Blitz 2019 * Sector Arbiter of the World Youth Standard 2015 She has officiated in 4 Olympiads 2014,2016,2018, 2022 and was arbiter in many FIDE events including world Cades, Youth, Junior, seniors, as well as continental events. Shohreh also worked in many top level International events as Chief or Deputy including Norway Chess, Gibraltar, London Chess Classic, Abu Dhabi Masters, Sharjah Masters, and Thailand Chess Festival.

Awards and honors

Bayat was awarded an

in 2021 for being a champion for women’s rights and ignoring the Iranian government threats. She also won the 2022 IVLP Impact Award by Meridian International Center. IVLP Impact Award Project Title: Chess for the Wellbeing of Ukrainian Refugees in the United Kingdom In 2022, she won the Award of best European female Arbiter by FIDE, the Award ceremony was organised in Chennai during the 2022 World Chess Olympiad. Shohreh is a member of English national chess team and played for England in the European Team Chess Championship 2021 in Slovenia. She is also a board member in English Chess Federation.

Personal life

Bayat is married and has family in Iran. In January 2020, she flew to England to seek

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

. Bayat had previously received a British visa for a

chess tournament A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London 1851 chess tournament, London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard ...

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayat, Shohreh Living people 1987 births Place of birth missing (living people) Chess arbiters Iranian chess players Iranian emigrants to England Iranian people of Jewish descent People of Azerbaijani-Jewish descent Crypto-Jews Iranian people of Azerbaijani descent People from Rasht Chess Woman FIDE Masters Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award Iranian refugees Sportspeople of Iranian descent