Chess powerhouse Russia has joined the Asian Chess Federation subsequent to an ACF vote that permits Russian players to continue to join at an international level notwithstanding the war in Ukraine and the sanctions that it has prompted.
Relatively on Tuesday, the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) agreed to include the Chess Federation of Russia (CFR) as part of its organization – a decision hailed as “significant” by Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin. Members of the ACF General Assembly in Abu Dhabi approved the move, with 29 delegates voting in favor, one polling against, and six others abstaining.
The decision comes after the International Chess Federation (FIDE) gave the green light for the CFR to switch its affiliation from the European Chess Union to the ACF.
Russian athletes have been excluded from several sports and mostly cannot compete in Europe due to the sanctions and competition problems related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb. 24, 2022.
Though, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) previous month commended sports federations to make a pathway for Russian and Belarusian athletes to come back to international competitions in Asia.
This pathway would also give those athletes the opportunity to be in the running and qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics over Asian qualifying events as they are incapable to compete in Europe.
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Belarus is also on the list of Western sanctions for the reason that it has allowed Russia to use its land as an important staging zone for the invasion.
This day witnessed a historical event: a chess federation, one of the strongest in the world, has moved from one continent to another for the first time ever,
Russian chess federation president Andrey Filatov said on Tuesday following the ACF vote in Abu Dhabi.
“We are grateful to the delegates for having supported our transition to the ACF at the Continental Assembly by a majority of votes. It goes to show the amount of trust in us on the one hand, and the good work achieved by our federation on the other.”
Of the 36 votes, 29 ACF delegates voted in favor of Russia’s inclusion and one voted against it, while there were also six abstentions, with the result sealing Russia’s departure from the European Chess Union.
Several countries have widely opposed the IOC’s strategy to see a return of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, while Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Paris Olympics if Russians are allowable to participate, even as neutral athletes with no flag or anthem, as proposed.
