Fide maintains sanctions against Russia and Belarus

The sanctions against Russian and Belarusian chess players remain in place. The Chess Olympiad, a team competition with national teams, took place last weekend in Hungary’s capital. Russia and Belarus were absent from the boards; since the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, they are not allowed to field a team.

However, players from both countries are allowed to take part in individual tournaments – under a neutral flag, and the national anthems are not played. “Active support of the war” is also prohibited, the sanctions state. The approach of the World Chess Federation (Fide) thus largely corresponds to the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on how to deal with Russian and Belarusian athletes.

The Fide General Assembly also met during the Chess Olympiad. The committee dealt with a controversial matter. The Kyrgyzstan Federation had submitted a motion to lift all sanctions against Russia and Belarus with immediate effect. Kyrgyzstan is a former Soviet republic and still has close ties with Russia.

The World Federation President is Putin’s man

Chess is highly political in Russia, was the national sport even during the Soviet era and is influenced by the Kremlin. Vladimir Putin’s government spokesman Dmitri Peskov, for example, sits on the board of the national chess association. FIDE recently reprimanded the Russian association for organizing tournaments in the occupied Ukrainian territories.

Since the sanctions came into force, Russia has repeatedly tried to return to the international stage. In 2023, the Russians switched from the European to the Asian association – in the hope that athletes would be allowed to compete there under the Russian flag. Russia is therefore likely to have been pulling the strings in the background in the case of the Kyrgyzstan application.

What is explosive is that Fide President Arkady Dvorkovich comes from Russia and is closely linked to the ruler Putin. Dvorkovich was Putin’s personal economic advisor from 2008 to 2012, then deputy prime minister until 2018. He was also the head of the organization of the 2018 World Cup. Although he does not openly support the war in Ukraine, he also refrains from condemning it. For example, the word “war” is missing from the Fide statement on the sanctions against Russia and Belarus.

Accepting the request from Kyrgyzstan to lift all sanctions would have sent a signal. FIDE would have been the first sports association recognized by the IOC to allow Russian athletes to compete again. FIDE and President Dvorkovich had actually wanted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the world association at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. Instead, heated discussions broke out.

 

Carlsen is awarded, but recognizes Kasparov

Even five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen from Norway got political in light of the controversial vote. He was awarded a prize by FIDE for the best career in the history of chess. However, Carlsen only had his photo taken briefly with President Dvorkovich and said in his acceptance speech: “It’s a strange feeling to receive this award while I’m still playing.”

Carlsen thought the prize should have gone to Garry Kasparov. Kasparov won the world championship title six times between 1985 and 2000. Today he is a well-known opponent of Putin and lives in exile in the USA. Carlsen said in Budapest: “If Garry were standing here, he would take the opportunity to advise you against lifting the sanctions against the chess associations of Russia and Belarus. And I would do that too.” The proposal was also criticized by western associations.

FIDE President Dvorkovich must have found himself in a dilemma before Sunday’s vote. On the one hand, the IOC threatened to expel FIDE, and on the other, Dvorkovich was under pressure from the Kremlin. There was a rumor going around that the proposal would be withdrawn if Russian athletes were at least allowed to compete under their own flag. This proposal also failed to gain a majority.

Fide is forging a compromise

In the vote at the FIDE General Assembly, Russia suffered a “crushing defeat.” This is how the president of the English association, Malcolm Pein, put it to the BBC. Pein said: “Many delegates feared a deterioration in FIDE’s relations with the IOC and therefore rejected the motion.”

Of the 128 associations present, only 21 voted for the lifting of sanctions, including former Soviet republics such as Armenia and states such as Mali, where Russia exerts great influence. Most Western states, including Switzerland, Germany, France, the USA and England, rejected the motion outright.

The Fide Congress nevertheless agreed on a compromise. The majority of delegates, 66 in total, voted in favor of negotiations with the IOC. These will be about easing restrictions at least for juniors and para-athletes.