“A historic event has happened today: for the first time, a chess federation, one of the strongest in the world, has moved from one continent to another,” said Andrei Filatov, President of the Russian Chess Federation. After months of tensions related to the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian Chess Federation announced on Tuesday February 28 that it would leave Europe to be attached to Asia.
This measure was endorsed at an Asian chess summit in Abu Dhabi and welcomed by the Kremlin.
The Russian federation specified that this measure would become effective on May 1. “I look forward to this fruitful cooperation, the participation of Russian teams in continental competitions and the organization of Asian competitions in Russia,” Andrei Filatov said in a statement.
Russia has largely dominated the world of chess for decades, having notably made this area a space of struggle with the United States during the Cold War, and the Russian federation is one of the heavyweights in the sector. FIDE is also chaired by a former Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Arkadi Dvorkovitch, who was re-elected last August against a Ukrainian, Andriï Barychpolets.
Russian players prevented from competing under their flag
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hailed “very good news for our chess players and for our federation”, which will allow Russian athletes to take part in “big international competitions”.
The switch from the Russian federation to the Asian federation comes after years of tensions with the European chess federation, which have intensified since the start of Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine.
In March 2022, a few days after the start of the conflict, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and the European Chess Union (ECU) announced the suspension of the Russian federation. Russian players could nevertheless continue to participate in international competitions under the “neutral” banner of FIDE.
The decision of the Federation comes at a time when several Russian sports federations, in particular that of football, are also considering leaving Europe. After the outbreak of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several Russian sports bodies were suspended by international organizations and Russian athletes suspended or banned from competing under their flag. In response, the Russian Football Federation, suspended from all European competition, has repeatedly threatened to join the Asian confederation.
An intense debate has also been taking place since the beginning of the year around the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes with a view to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
