The ongoing global crisis continues to have adverse effects worldwide. With all walks of life affected in one way or another, sports have been no exception. Following the dispute between the countries involved, multiple authorities have called for the abandonment of their entities from the games.
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Russia probably has the richest chess history in the world. The world champion title has been passed on from generations to generations under the soviet banner and the country has produced the highest number of Grand Masters in the world. But today it seems all that accounts for nothing.
Russia banned from international Chess
In the light of the growing tensions in Europe, the International Chess Federation has banned Russia and Belarus from international chess tournaments. The organization said,??FIDE expresses its grave concern about the military action started by Russia in Ukraine, and FIDE stands united against wars as well as condemns any use of military means to resolve political conflicts.?
Russia dominated chess for a half-century. The game’s organizing body has now banned tournaments in the country. https://t.co/nbqUgH9rXI
? Jeffrey Levin ?? (@jilevin) March 2, 2022
FIDE also pulled out and suspended some of the most prestigious tournaments of chess, including Chess Olympiad, and furthermore, it canceled all the sponsorship deals with Russia and Belarus. The FIDE vice president, Nigel Short, said, ?We felt quite strongly that we had to take action.”
Russia and its relationship with chess
Chess is ingrained amongst the Russian population. According to the political science professor at the University of California at Berkeley, Steven Fish, ?Chess definitely has a big part in Russians? imagination, and they pride themselves in the fact that they have grandmasters and they tend to do well in these competitions. And this, like soccer, is a beloved sport in Russia, and they?re going to take very seriously being excluded from it.?
Russia has a great chess history and their Grand Masters have ruled the game for half a century. It’s quite impossible to imagine any international tournament without the Russian Grand Masters in it. However, the FIDE seems resolute in its decision regarding the ban.
How will the country with the highest number of Grand Masters react to this decision?
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