Ukrainian Chess Players Urge FIDE Not To Bring Belarusians Back To Competitions

The grandmasters sent an official letter to their colleagues.

Ukrainian chess players urged the FIDE General Assembly not to consider the issue of returning representatives of Russia and Belarus to competitions.

The grandmasters sent an official letter to their colleagues. It was published on the social media of the Ukrainian Chess Federation, reports Zerkalo Nedeli.

“As you know, the General Assembly will consider the possibility of lifting sanctions imposed on the Russian and Belarusian chess federations. We believe that discussing this issue is not only premature, but also deeply immoral, given the current circumstances affecting our homeland and the international community as a whole.

Please put pressure on your national federations so that this topic is not even included in the agenda for discussion. Support the chess community of Ukraine and those affected by the conflict. Let us collectively defend the values of peace, integrity and respect in our chess community.

Together we can stand up for what is right. The chess community has always been a beacon of unity and strength, and now is the time to demonstrate that solidarity. We trust that you will join us in our appeal and help protect the principles that are dear to us. Thank you for your understanding and support,” the letter says.

The signatures under the appeal were put by Oleksandr Belyavsky, Natalia Buksa, Evhenia Dolukhanova, Inna Haponenko, Vasilia Ivanchuk, Anton Korobov, Ruslan Ponomariov and other chess players.

The FIDE General Assembly will be held on September 21-22 in Budapest.

It is worth noting that earlier the FIDE Ethics Commission decided to cancel the suspension of the Russian Federation's membership and replaced this sanction with a fine. The reprimand to the Russian FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich was also canceled.

Dvorkovich has headed FIDE since October 2018. Before this appointment, he was Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.

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