FIDE Ethics Commission suspends Russian Chess Federation and reprimands FIDE President

In a remarkable move, FIDE's Ethics and Disciplinary Commission issued a decision over the weekend threatening to suspend the Russian Chess Federation (RCF) from membership for two years. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich was also reprimanded for his role in the Russian Chess Federation. The Russian Chess Federation has traditionally been closely associated with the Russian government and senior Russian politicians and decision-makers, some of whom sit on the Russian Chess Federation's Board of Directors. These include Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Sergei Shoigu, who has recently been replaced as Defence Minister. Peskov and Shoigu, along with several other members, were placed on the sanctions list after the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Vladimir Dvorkovich is also a member of the supervisory board of the Russian Chess Federation. Dvorkovich was an economic advisor to the Russian government and served as deputy prime minister from 2012 to 2018 and maintains close contacts with the Russian government. He has been seen at various official events with sanctioned individuals. As a result, Dvorkovich would damage FIDE's reputation, FIDE's Ethics Commission said in justifying its decision.

The Russian Chess Federation was found guilty by the Ethics Commission of having seriously damaged the reputation of the World Chess Federation FIDE and of having violated the obligations of the FIDE Charter, among other things by organising tournaments in the areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia in violation of international law.

The Russian Chess Federation now faces expulsion from FIDE for two years if it does not remove the members of its supervisory board who are on the sanctions list within 60 days and also cease all activities in the areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia.

If the Russian Federation is suspended from FIDE, it will not be allowed to participate in any FIDE tournaments. Players, coaches and referees belonging to the Russian Federation will not be affected by this measure.

Three members of FIDE, including the Ukrainian grandmaster Andrey Baryshpolets, who also stood for the office of FIDE president in 2018, and Peter Heine Nielsen, Magnus Carlsen's long-time second and FIDE critic, had already filed the complaint with the FIDE Ethics Commission in 2023.

In its decision, the FIDE Ethics Commission also stated that the FIDE Council had attempted to influence the decision of the Ethics Commission.

Dvorkovich and the President of the Russian Chess Federation argued that the FIDE Ethics Committee had no authority to make this decision. The Ethics Committee sees it differently.

FIDE Ethics Commission...