World chess body suspends Russia over activities in occupied-Ukraine
Key takeaways
- Russia is accused of usurping control of the game in areas of Ukraine captured by Russian forces since 2022.
- It gave Russia 90 days to relinquish control of chess bodies in five regions of Ukraine and stop holding tournaments there.
- Russian adult players will retain the right to participate in FIDE tournaments under FIDE’s flag, not their own.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Russia is accused of usurping control of the game in areas of Ukraine captured by Russian forces since 2022.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Suspension runs counter to recent trend in which global sports are starting to re-admit Russian competitors [File: Denes Erdos/AP Photo]By Reuters Published On 11 Jun 202611 Jun 2026The governing body of world chess has suspended Russia – the dominant force in the game for decades – after a successful legal challenge by Ukraine.
An international tribunal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, in March upheld a complaint by Ukraine that Russia’s chess federation had usurped control of the game in areas of Ukraine captured by Russian forces since 2022.