Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin Banned for His Pro-Russia Comments

Sergey Karjakin has been banned the International Chess Federation.

Sergey Karjakin has been banned for 6 months.

Image: FIDE_Chess/Twitter 

Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin has been banned from competing for 6 months by the International Chess Federation, for his support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He can appeal against the decision within 3 weeks.

The 32-year-old, who challenged Magnus Carlsen for the world title in 2016, defended his country's invasion of Ukraine on social media in recent weeks, resulting in heavy criticism.

"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 governing body said in a statement.

"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."

Karjakin, who was born in Crimea, had represented Ukraine till 2009, and said on social media that he was being targeted for his support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The 6-month ban now puts Karjakin's participation in the Candidates Tournament, which begins on 16 June, in doubt. The FIDE earlier stripped host Moscow of the Chess Olympiad and FIDE Congress later this year and banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing in tournaments under their respective flags.

Belarus has been a key staging area for Russian troops.