MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Russian Chess Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin has returned to the Top-10 of the World Chess federation (FIDE) Ratings, according to the newly published rankings list of the world’s governing chess body.

Karjakin, 33, climbed three spots up from his previous 12th place and he is now 9th with 2,750 points.

The FIDE Ratings is still topped by Norway’s Magnus Carlsen with 2,829 points, who is followed by Fabiano Caruana of the United States (2,795 points) in the 2nd place and China’s reigning World Champion Ding Liren in the 3rd place (2,780 points).

Another Russian chess player in the Top-10 of the FIDE Ratings is Ian Nepomniachtchi, who stands 6th with 2,771 points.

FIDE’s previous ban on Karjakin

On February 28, 2022, 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 the public announcement of his political stance, launching a disciplinary case against him.

On March 21, 2022 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.

Russian sport of chess under sanctions

On February 28, 2022 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments because of the special military operation in Ukraine.

Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February last year, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments. On March 16, 2022, the World Chess Federation prohibited national teams from Russia and Belarus from playing in FIDE licensed tournaments, but allowed individual players from these countries to take part under a neutral status.