MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. Russian Chess Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin said on Wednesday that if elected the president of the Russian Chess Federation (RCF) there would be no objections to the national players’ participation in national tournaments under the neutral flag of the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
"I promise that I will not be coming forward with any legal obstacles and will stay aside. It is impossible for me to envisage where they [Russian chess players] will be competing and what flag they would fly," Karjakin said speaking at a news conference, hosted by TASS on Wednesday.
Elections for the new RCF president are slated for December 17 and Karjakin is one of the candidates running for this post.
"I have made a personal decision against playing under the flag of the world federation," Karjakin continued. "There will certainly be no discrimination on this behalf as I am against imposing my personal point of view on somebody else."
On February 28, FIDE granted permission to individual chess players representing Russia and Belarus to play in international tournaments under a neutral status and announced that it would not hold official chess competitions and events in Russia and Belarus.
On March 16, FIDE prohibited national teams from Russia and Belarus from playing in FIDE licensed tournaments, but continued to allow individual players from these countries to take part under a neutral status.
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich told TASS last month that the World Chess Federation would not change the rules in regard to players’ participation in global tournaments following recently voiced demands on behalf of Russian Chess Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin.
Karjakin’s case
Russian Chess Grandmaster Karjakin stated in November that he would not be competing at the 2022 World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Kazakhstan, on December 25-31, if he was not allowed to play under the national flag of Russia.
On February 27, Karjakin published an open letter in which he supported Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. The next day, FIDE condemned the Russian grandmaster for publicly declaring his political stance, and took ‘disciplinary action’ against him.
On March 21, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) stated that its Ethics and Disciplinary Commission (EDC) decided to suspend Russian Chess Grandmaster Karjakin from all competitions for a period of six months.
Karjakin, 32, is currently 10th on the FIDE Rankings List. In 2016, the Russian chess player won the Candidates Tournament and then lost the World Chess Championship’s title match to Norwegian Magnus Carlsen.
Karjakin is the winner of the Chess World Cup in 2015. He is also the world champion in Rapid Chess (2012) and Blitz (2016).