A Russian chess prodigy has been banned from competing internationally by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) because he is the wrong nationality.
Yes, really.
32-year-old chess grandmaster Sergey Karjakin expressed support for his country’s military operation in Ukraine, writing an open letter to Vladimir Putin that declared Russia is “fighting for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine with its ruling regime, which has put the security of all of Europe and our country at risk, for the sake of its political goals and ambitions.”
BYPASS THE CENSORS
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Summit.news reports: Amplifying Putin’s narrative on the Ukraine skirmish, Karjakin further wrote that “For eight long years we have been waiting with hope for salvation from countless shelling and loss of human lives, the ongoing genocide by the still acting Kiev regime.”
He continued, “I express to you, our commander-in-chief, full support in protecting the interests of Russia, our multinational Russian people, eliminating threats and establishment of peace! I wish you the speedy fulfilment of all the tasks assigned to our valiant army.”
After previously announcing a blanket ban of Russia and Belarus from team events, FIDE moved to suspend Karjakin from individual events for at least six months.
“The statements by Sergey Karjakin on the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine has led to a considerable number of reactions on social media and elsewhere, to a large extent negative towards the opinions expressed by Sergey Karjakin,” said FIDE in a statement, adding that they have found the grandmaster guilty of ‘breaching the Code of Ethics’.
The statement concluded that “The EDC Chamber finds, against the background given above, on the standard of comfortable satisfaction that the statements of Sergey Karjakin, which, by his own choice and presentation, can be connected to the game of chess, damage the reputation of the game of chess and/or FIDE. The likelihood that these statements will damage the reputation of Sergey Karjakin personally is also considerable.”
Prior to the FIDE suspension, Karjakin had already been blacklisted from several chess events, including tournaments in the UK and Norway and banned by the Grand Chess Tour and from Chess.com.
Responding to the suspension, Karjakin said: “I’m disappointed. You understand, this is not just a suspension for six months, everything was planned. The idea was to prevent me from playing in the Candidates Tournament and to deprive me of a possible entry into the [world title] match with Magnus Carlsen.”
He added, “I don’t know if I’ll be returning in six months to tournaments under the auspices of FIDE. They dishonored not me, but themselves. I just don’t remember such a precedent when a chess player was not allowed on principle. It’s a shame.”
He also charged that the FIDE ban is political, because the body’s president Arkady Dvorkovich is Russian.
“Dvorkovich is trying to show that he is a European official. He wants to remain FIDE president. He decided to sacrifice me for his political ambitions,” Karjakin further noted.
Karjakin was also quoted by Russia’s TASS news agency that he will not be appealing the FIDE ruling, noting “I don’t see the point of filing an appeal — any court will take the side of Europe. And FIDE is an international sports organization that does the same as everyone else. And by some coincidence, a Russian is still leading it. I think that this is not for long.”
Karjakin added “I understood that there was such a danger [of disqualification], but I believe that I am first and foremost a citizen and patriot of my country, and I say this without any boasting. If such a situation arose again, I would not keep my mouth shut, but again I would write such a letter. I do not regret a bit what I did. Choosing between supporting my country and participating in the Candidates Tournament, I would always choose the first one.”
As we’ve previously noted, there have been a multitude of anti-Russian actions and sentiments that have little to do with the current regime’s activities in Ukraine. Although Karjakin expressed support for his country’s actions, other sports competitors have been banned for not bending the knee and denouncing Putin, despite not issuing any statements of support whatsoever.
The Montreal Symphony Orchestra has banned a a young Russian prodigy pianist from taking part in its events, despite the musician publicly opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It’s not enough to submit to the mob by performing a public act of ideological subservience.
Anyone and everything Russian is up for erasure, including Russian cats, Russian Air B&Bs and Russian teams in FIFA Video games.
