EU sanctions force world chess chief to step aside

Arkady Dvorkovich, the Russian president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), has announced that he is suspending his powers as head of the organization after being placed on the EU’s latest sanctions list.

The sanctions package – the bloc’s 21st since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, and one Brussels struggled for weeks to finalize amid internal divisions over its potential fallout – was published on Thursday.

It targets Russia’s energy, financial, crypto, trade, fisheries, and LNG transport sectors while imposing restrictions on 170 entities and 48 individuals over alleged “public support” for Russia’s military operation. Dvorkovich, a Russian economist and former deputy prime minister who has led FIDE since 2018, was among those blacklisted.

In a statement published on the FIDE website on Friday, Dvorkovich called the decision “unlawful and unfair” and pledged to challenge it “by all possible means.”

“I am confident that justice will prevail,” he wrote, adding that, to avoid disrupting FIDE’s operations, he decided to voluntarily suspend his powers as president until the sanctions are lifted or overturned in court.

FIDE is registered in Switzerland, where sanctioned individuals cannot legally act as the “owner, holder or controller” of an organization’s assets, meaning its bank accounts, sponsorships, and contracts could have become compliance issues had Dvorkovich remained in office. The federation faced a similar situation after the US sanctioned then-President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov in 2015, triggering years of disputes with banks that refused to work with FIDE. Washington lifted the sanctions last year.

Dvorkovich added that First Vice President Viswanathan Anand would assume the duties of the presidency. The FIDE Council ratified the handover the same day.

Analysts note that while Dvorkovich has suspended his powers in practice, he technically remains FIDE president because he has not resigned. Should a court overturn the sanctions, his authority would automatically be restored. However, experts warn the sanctions could complicate his previously announced plans to seek a third term in September.

German entrepreneurs Vadim Rosenstein and Jan Henrik Buettner, as well as Ilyumzhinov, have also announced plans to run for FIDE president. Russian Chess Federation (RCF) head Andrey Filatov earlier suggested that Russian Grandmaster Sergey Karyakin could seek the post. However, Karyakin, a native of Simferopol and now a senator representing Crimea, is also under EU sanctions, and told Match TV this week that leading FIDE would be impossible.

The Russian and Soviet chess school is widely respected for developing a state-backed training system that produced generations of leading grandmasters and world champions, including Mikhail Tal and Anatoly Karpov. Just this winter, 12-year-old Russian prodigy Sergey Sklokin-Bagiyan stunned the chess community at the World Blitz Championship in Doha, defeating 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster and reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju.

EU piles on sanctions even as ‘common sense’ returns to sports bodies

A number of Russian sports and cultural figures were placed under Western sanctions, ostensibly in solidarity with Ukraine over their alleged support for Russia’s military operation. Alongside Dvorkovich, Russian Sports Minister and head of the country’s Olympic Committee Mikhail Degtyarev was also included in the EU’s latest sanctions package.

Numerous sports federations and governing bodies also barred Russian and Belarusian teams from international competition, prompting Russian officials to accuse Western countries of politicizing sport. Moscow has argued that Ukraine and its backers influenced these decisions and has challenged several sports bans in court.

However, the tide appears to be turning.

FIDE, which banned Russian and Belarusian teams from its competitions in March 2022, readmitted Russian and Belarusian teams last year to official competitions for youth and junior events, and lifted all restrictions last month on the Belarus Chess Federation, allowing Belarusian players and official teams to compete under their national flag. World Aquatics, World Gymnastics, and the International Fencing Federation also restored Russian and Belarusian participation under their national flags and anthems.

Earlier this month, the International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, clearing the way for Russian athletes to return to international competition. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova welcomed the move last week, saying, “Common sense has prevailed!”