Ban on Russian FIDE events and players – ChessChat

October 22, 2026 by Kerry Corker

Quote Originally Posted by kundikoi View Post
… And the primary impact of the suspension is that RF cannot host formal FIDE events (not that they have done many recently anyways). i.e. Aeroflot Opens can proceed as usual – although what happens if someone from the “aforementioned territories” enters & plays in them? One could argue this would violate the ‘spirit’ of the suspension.
We may soon find out:
A women’s team representing Russian-occupied Donetsk, competing under the pointed name “Friendship of the Peoples of Russia”, was allowed to take part despite a formal protest from the Ukrainian Chess Federation (UCF). The protest also concerned a team representing Crimea. And now, following World Chess’s original report on the controversy, FIDE has confirmed that it is seeking legal guidance before deciding whether the championships should count towards international ratings.