A Russian chess grandmaster has been slapped with a lengthy ban after he made a series of comments and statements showing support for Vladimir Putin 's bloody invasion of Ukraine.
Sergey Karjakin sparked outrage in the chess world and beyond just days after Russian forces invaded the country in which he was born and represented during his early days as a young prodigy. He switched allegiance to Russia as a 19-year-old and has competed under the white, blue and red flag ever since.
And despite two invasions of his homeland – the first when the Crimea was annexed in 2014 before the full-scale war which began last month – he is firmly in the pro-Putin camp. In an open letter addressed to the Russian leader, he parroted the Kremlin lines about the invasion being an act of "protection" towards the Ukrainian people.
"It is fighting for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine with its ruling regime, which has put the security of all of Europe and our country at risk, for the sake of its political goals and ambitions," he wrote. "I am closely following the ongoing special operation, in the lands where I spent my childhood, where I learned to play chess and where my relatives still live.
"I express to you, our commander-in-chief, full support in protecting the interests of Russia, our multinational Russian people, eliminating threats and establishment of peace! I wish you the speedy fulfilment of all the tasks assigned to our valiant army."
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced soon after that disciplinary action would be taken against him, but that didn't stop Karjakin from making more statements about the conflict. In one Tweet, he claimed a taxi driver in Dubai had told him that "Russia is great" and that the UAE is "not so stupid as Ukraine".
In a separate post, this time on his Telegram channel, the 32-year-old appeared to be addressing Ukrainians directly and told them they cannot win against Russia and that they should surrender so that the "senseless" fighting can end. He finished that statement with what appeared to be a chilling threat: "If you go along with the Kiev regime... don't say that you weren't warned."
Announcing the ban on Monday, FIDE said that it had found "comfortable satisfaction" that Karjakin's comments can be connected to the sport in general and that it could damage the reputation of chess. It added that there is also "considerable" likelihood that the Russian's own reputation would be tarnished.
As Chess24 reports, Karjakin is able to appeal the ruling, but appears to be against taking that course of action. He is quoted by TASS, the Russian news agency, as having said that he "does not see the point of filing an appeal".
He added: "Any court will take the side of Europe. And FIDE is an international sports organization that does like everyone else. And by some coincidence, a Russian is still leading it. I think that this is not for long."
