The International Chess Federation (FIDE) Presidential Board has decided to prevent Russian chess teams from participating in the World Chess Olympiad to be held in Uzbekistan. This was announced by the Executive Director of the Russian Chess Federation, Alexander Tkachev.
“Our teams will not participate in the World Chess Olympiad. This decision was made by the board on the initiative of FIDE Acting President Viswanathan Anand”, — said Tkachev.
According to him, the decision was made not by those who place chess above politics, but by those who put their personal interests first.
The 46th World Chess Olympiad will be held in the city of Samarkand on September 15–27 of this year.
The Russian national team will not participate in the competition because the sanctions imposed on the country by FIDE have been extended. Thus, Russian chess players will miss the team world championship for the third consecutive time.
