MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. Russian chess players will be able to compete internationally under the national flag only after a Ukraine deal that Russia is satisfied with is reached, Russian Chess Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin said on Thursday.
"As for the prospects for chess and other sports, things are complicated," he said speaking at a panel discussion at the 4th Youth Forum "Russia-Africa: What’s Next?"
"I played chess professionally until 2022, participating in tournaments around the globe," he continued. "Everything changed once the [Russian] special military operation was launched. I decided to sit back and stay quiet. I wrote a letter in support of the special military operation."
"My participation in tournaments on the global stage is next to impossible. It is possible but only under the FIDE [International Chess Federation] flag," he continued. "This is all wrong."
"The situation can change only in case of our victory [in the special military operation] or if a peaceful agreement is signed based on our [Russian] conditions," he added.
Karjakin, 35, won the Chess World Cup in 2015. He is also a former world champion in Rapid Chess (2012) and Blitz (2016). In 2016 he won the FIDE Candidates tournament and later that year lost to Norwegian Chess Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in his battle for the World Chess Crown.
FIDE’s 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 (the World Chess Federation) 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.
FIDE’s sanctions against Russia
On February 28, 2022, FIDE announced that chess players from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to participate in international competitions under a neutral status, adding, however, that the federation had barred both countries from hosting official chess competitions.
On March 16, 2022, the world governing body of chess barred teams representing Russia and Belarus from all international competition.
On June 7, 2024, the FIDE Ethics Commission ruled to suspend the membership of the Russian Chess Federation (RCF) with the global federation for the two-year period because the RCF included as its members chess associations from the country’s new territories.
On June 26, 2024, Russia’s governing chess body filed an appeal against the decision of the FIDE Ethics Commission and requested a complete overhaul of the Ethics Commission, as well as the return of the flag and anthem to Russian athletes.
On September 13, 2024, the Appeals Chamber of the FIA Ethics Commission overturned the body's earlier decision to revoke the RCF’s membership, upholding the appeal of the Russian Chess Federation.