The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has suspended Russia immediately as a result of its non-compliance with a verdict pertaining to Ukrainian territories occupied during the protracted war.
The decision follows an earlier judgment rendered in March by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in response to a petition by Ukraine’s chess federation. The CAS ruled that the Russian Chess Federation be stripped of its responsibility over chess federations based in five occupied Ukrainian regions and its participation in chess competitions there be suspended within 90 days.
Upon the elapse of this deadline and non-compliance on the part of Russia’s chess federation, FIDE decided to suspend Russia as a member. Ukraine Chess Federation welcomed the move as “a historical victory” and a fulfillment of its endeavor to preserve the authenticity of chess.
Nevertheless, the move has polarized opinion in the chess world. While Russian individual players would still be allowed to participate in FIDE competitions wearing its neutrality flag, a clause which might permit the Russian chess teams to participate in future events also under the neutrality flag drew the ire of a group of officials on the ground that it could serve as a step toward Russia’s return to team events.
It is on this basis that some quarters fear that the Russian teams might again participate in the next Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan, although the country had already been prohibited from the last two Chess Olympiads as a consequence of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
President of the Russian Chess Federation Andrei Filatov was quoted as saying that their legal experts were analyzing the suspension to see if it could be appealed. This development is an embarrassing and detrimental moment for one of the powerhouses of chess, and is indeed contrary to decisions made recently by a number of sporting federations which have been lifting restrictions on Russian athletes.
