Russian Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin Banned From Chess After Supporting Ukraine Invasion
The Russian chess grandmaster has been banned for six months following proactive comments about the war in Ukraine.
Russian chess grandmaster Sergey Karjakin has been banned from the sport after coming out in defence of the invasion of Ukraine.
The 32-year-old has taken to social media to defend his country's actions in recent weeks, which have been condemned by the chess community as well as the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
The Russian, who was born in Crimea and represented Ukraine up until 2009, has been banned for six months from the sport.
In a statement, FIDE said: "The statements by Sergey Karjakin on the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine have led to a considerable number of reactions on social media and elsewhere, to a large extent negative towards the opinions expressed.
"Sergey Karjakin is found guilty of breach of article 2.2.10 of the FIDE Code of Ethics, and is sanctioned to a worldwide ban of six months from participating as a player in any FIDE rated chess competition, taking effect from the date of this decision, 21 March 2022."
The chess player had repeatedly accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy of committing war crimes while saying the United States was the real threat to world peace.
In recent tweets, he claimed the Ukrainian army had killed 25 people in the city of Donetsk, while the "western press" was being silent on the news.
He claimed: "Zelensky is the killer of the children of Donbass!
In another tweet, he said: "Ukraine used a rocket with a cluster charge to strike civilians in Donbass. Cluster munitions are prohibited by the UN Convention. But the UN will not notice anything again."
A vocal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Karjakin did not seem to show any remorse for his comments despite his ban.
In a series of tweets, he said: "Many people ask if I regret my public support of the special operation? After all, I have already lost invitations to Western tournaments and may lose an invitation to the candidates tournament.
"My answer is simple. I am on the side of Russia and my President. No matter what happens, I will support my country in any situation without thinking for a second!"
Fellow Russian grandmaster Sergei Shipov had also been investigated by FIDE due to his pro-Russia stance however, the chess organisation had decided not to sanction him.
Featured Image Credit: Lilyana Vynogradova / ITAR-TASS News Agency / AlamyTopics: Ukraine, chess, Sergey Karjakin, Russia
Jayden Collins