In the world of chess politics, the map has been redrawn. Russia is now officially in Asia, and no longer in Europe. The move was formalised at the end of February, when the Asian Chess Federation voted to admit the Russian Chess Federation by an overwhelming margin. Russia’s pivot to Asia was in the pipeline for some time, since the European Chess Union (ECU) suspended the federations of Russia and Belarus just a couple of weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine. The international federation Fide followed suit soon after, so those teams were absent from the Fide Olympiad in Chennai last year.
In Europe, the impact was lessened by the fact that the ECU’s biennial European Team Championship, is not due until November 2023 in Montenegro. (Russian clubs were excluded from the European Club Cup in October 2022.) Meanwhile, Russian players have been allowed to compete as individuals in ECU events, provided they do so under the Fide flag.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in