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Russia’s women chess team through to 2025 FIDE World Championship semifinals in Madrid

The Russians won the tournament in 2021 but in 2023, they skipped the competition due to the ban of the Council of the International Chess Federation

MADRID, November 21. /TASS/. Russia has edged out 3.5; 0.5 the national team of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals of the 2025 FIDE (International Chess Federation) Women World Championship in Spain’s Madrid in team event.

The Women’s World Chess Championship is held biannually. The Russians won the tournament in 2021 but in 2023, they skipped the competition due to the ban of the Council of the International Chess Federation, which ruled in 2022 to bar the national teams of Russia and Belarus from participating in competitions under the auspices of the organization.

Earlier in the year, the FIDE General Assembly rejected a proposal to reinstate in full Russian and Belarusian chess players’ participation in tournaments, and allow them to play under the national flag and to the tune of the national anthem.

The delegates voted in favor of conducting consultations with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), regarding a possibility of a partial admission of Russian and Belarusian players in international chess team events.

In July, FIDE allowed the Russian women's national team to participate in the World Team Championship under the FIDE banner and the European Chess Union (ECU) opposed this decision.