Former world chess champion Carlsen unveils return announcement
The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine is now entering its third year, prompting several sports organizations to mull over the possibility of welcoming Russian and Belarusian athletes back, like in chess. Not only Magnus Carlsen, the previous World Champion, shares this opposition.
At the FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) General Assembly in Budapest (September 21-22), Carlsen expressed his stance against the reinstatement of these players. During the event, where he received an award from FIDE President Arkadi Dworkovich for being the greatest player ever, the 33-year-old strongly urged FIDE not to reinstate them.
He referred to former World Champion Garry Kasparov, currently a Putin critic residing in exile, stating, "I'm confident (Garry Kasparov, ed.) would use this chance to advise against the reinstatement of the Russian and Belarusian chess federations, so I do too." He shared this viewpoint in a video from the ceremony, which he uploaded on platform X.
German Chess Federation firmly opposes return
Before the Hungarian General Assembly delved into this matter over the weekend, the German Chess Federation (Deutsche Schachbund, DSB) had already outright rejected any return without conditions and spoken out against the integration proposals.
On the other hand, the Kyrgyz Chess Union (KCU) and the Russian Chess Federation (Союз Шахмат России, CFR) advocate for a full and equal participation of Russian and Belarusian players in international competitions once again. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the spring of 2022, these players have been suspended. However, since then, they have been granted permission to participate in individual FIDE World Championship cycle tournaments under the FIDE flag.
DSB President Ingrid Lauterbach had anticipated this stance over a month ago, emphasizing, "Our position on this matter is clear: From our perspective, these proposals do not align with the stance of the International Olympic Committee and our views on this war."
After expressing his opposition to the reinstatement of Russian and Belarusian chess players at the FIDE General Assembly, Magnus Carlsen referred to Garry Kasparov's stance against it. The German Chess Federation (DSB) had previously rejected any return without conditions, aligning with the International Olympic Committee's stance on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
