Bathroom Lock-Out Brings World Chess Championship to Screeching Halt
The New York Times reported that when he was locked out of his private bathroom, world chess championship contender Vladimir Kramnik of Russia refused to play his fifth match—bringing the entire competition to a halt.
According to reports, the Bulgarian team noticed Kramnik was taking frequent bathroom breaks and suspected him of cheating…
They reported him to the World Chess Federation, which responded by locking the private bathrooms for both teams. Players could still use the bathrooms, but competing teams would have to share facilities.
Kramnik sat outside the bathrooms during the match, demanding that his private restroom be unlocked. After an hour, his game was declared forfeited to his competitor, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.
Kramnik defended his actions by saying that the bathroom closings were a sign of discrimination against the Russian teams. He claimed that he was using the bathrooms frequently because he had drunk a lot of water and because he liked to pace while thinking out chess moves, and the space in the bathroom was large enough to accommodate his habits.
What do you think—did the bathroom lockout signal discrimination, or was Kramnik probably cheating?