Entrished at an Asian failure of failures in Abu Dhabi, this measure comes while other Russian sports federations, in particular that of football, also plan to leave Europe.
MO12345lemonde with AFP
“A historical event has occurred today: for the first time, a failure of chess, one of the strongest in the world, has gone from one continent to another,” said Andreï Filatov , the president of the Russian failure federation. After months of tensions related to the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian failure federation announced Tuesday, February 28 that it was going to leave Europe to be attached to Asia.
This measure was ratified during an Asian failure of failures in Abu Dhabi and welcomed positively by the Kremlin.
The Russian Federation said that this measure would become effective on May 1. “I am delighted in advance of this fruitful cooperation, the participation of Russian teams in continental competitions and the organization of Asian competitions in Russia,” added Andreï Filatov, quoted in a press release.
Russia has largely dominated the world of failures for decades, having notably made this area a space for struggle with the United States during the Cold War, and the Russian Federation is one of the heavyweights in the sector. La Fide is also chaired by a former Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Arkadi Dvorkovitch, who was re-elected last August against a Ukrainian, Andriï Barychpolets.
Russian players prevented from competing under their flag
The spokesperson for Kremlin Dmitri Peskov welcomed a “very good news for our chess players and for our federation”, which will allow Russian athletes to take part in “major international competitions”.
The transition from the Russian Federation to the Asian Federation comes after years of tensions with the European failure Federation, which have been strengthened since the start of the Moscow offensive against Ukraine.
In March 2022, a few days after the start of the conflict, the International Federation of Chess (Fide) and the European Union of failures (ECU) had announced the suspension of the Russian Federation. Russian players could nevertheless continue to participate in international competitions under the “neutral” banner of the Fide.
The federation’s decision comes at a time when several Russian sports federations, notably that of football, are also planning to leave Europe. After triggering the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, several Russian sports bodies were suspended by international organizations and the Russian athletes suspended or prohibited from competing under their flag. In response, the Russian Football Federation, suspended from any European competition, has several times threatened to join the Asian Confederation.
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An intense debate has also taken place since the beginning of the year around the participation of Russian and Belarussian sportsmen with a view to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.