FIDE Upholds Ban on Russian, Belarusian Players Amidst Calls for Inclusivity

The FIDE General Assembly maintained the ban on Russian and Belarusian players due to the Ukraine conflict. However, it considered easing restrictions for disabled and junior players. The decision involved consultation with the IOC. The assembly occurred during the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest.

Chess governing body FIDE's general assembly on Sunday upheld a ban on Russian and Belarusian players imposed after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, while backing a move to consider easing restrictions on disabled and junior players. The Ukrainian government, the U.S. State Department and players including former world champion Magnus Carlsen and members of the Ukraine Olympic team had urged chess federations to reject an initial motion by Kyrgyzstan to fully reinstate the two nations.

In the end, delegates from 66 countries supported a last-minute proposal by the FIDE Council to consult the International Olympic Committee (IOC) about letting some players and teams from Russia and Belarus, such as those with disabilities or children aged under 12, return to international events. "We believe this approach upholds FIDE's commitment to inclusivity while respecting the international framework", the organisation's deputy president and also a former world champion Viswanathan Anand told the assembly before the ballot.

Forty-one delegates voted not to readmit the players, 21 countries favoured lifting the ban entirely and 27 abstained or were absent. The FIDE Council is an oversight body chaired by FIDE president and former Russian deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich, who has strived to avoid criticism in both Russia and the West.

Russian chess federation president Andrey Filatov told local media on Sunday that Dvorkovich was buying time for fear of sanctions from Ukraine and the United States. In line with the IOC's stance on the two countries, Russian and Belarusian players including 2021 and 2023 world championship runner-up Ian Nepomniachtchi are allowed to participate in international events under a neutral flag.

Sunday's vote avoided setting a dangerous precedent by breaking with the IOC, but FIDE should act more energetically towards Russia and Belarus, Pieter Heine Nielsen, Carlsen's former coach and a frequent critic of FIDE, told Reuters. "We're talking within the last two years, more than a thousand chess events in occupied Ukraine by Russia ... There was no words discussed about how do we force Russia to stop these events", Nielsen said.

The FIDE General Assembly was held over the weekend in Budapest alongside the 45th Chess Olympiad, the world's largest chess team event with almost 2,000 participants. World championship challenger Gukesh Dommaraju and his teammates from India won gold in both the open and women's sections of the event.

(With inputs from agencies.)