Chess grandmaster Sergei Shipov said Russia should host chess tournaments with players from countries that are “loyal” to him including China India and Belarus. Russia has been banned from hosting events organized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) following the attack on Ukraine, although the governing body has stopped short of joining many other sports federations in banning Russian and Belarusian competitors.
FIDE banned Russian grandmaster Sergei Karjakin for six months after he expressed support for Russia in its president Vladimir Putin – and Shipov was investigated but not punished for comments deemed pro-Russian but less provocative. Chess players should not sit idly by, said Shipov who was named grandmaster in 1996 by FIDE speaking to Tass.
They are professionals, they have to play [and] win something because life is life. I see that our skiers and biathletes actively participate in various competitions and chess players should do the same. You can invite athletes from Belarus India China and other countries that are more or less loyal to Russia. There would be organizers and sponsors. I think our boys would be happy to play. We must do it; I want it to happen.
Shipov was referring to a well-received competition held in Siberia for athletes who were banned from the Beijing Paralympics earlier this month. The competition was held under We Are Together. The sports banner and officials such as the president of the Russian Paralympic Committee (PRC) Pavel Rozhkov spoke on Wednesday about plans to organize future international competitions with Russia’s partners.
We have decided that this year there will be a series of open championships with the participation of BRICS and SCO [Shanghai Co-operation Organization] countries, and we have intensified relations with the National Paralympic Committee of China whose national team is the most important team in the world today Rozhkov said.
Just the other day, I received a letter from the head of China’s NPC saying that China pays great attention to our countries’ cooperation. Major sporting events that have been pulled from Russia since the start of the conflict include the Champions League soccer final in May and the 2022 World Short Course Swimming Championships which are scheduled for December.
