– Of course, I am happy to receive this award, but personally I still believe that Garry Kasparov has achieved more in his chess career than me. I understand why I got this award, but he deserved it better – he said Carlsen at the award ceremony, where Judit Polgár received the award for the best female chess player and Zsuzsa Polgár for the best female coach.
However, his speech did not end with these polite sentences. Referring to Kasparov, Carlsen also expressed an opinion on the question that divides the chess community: should FIDE take back Russia and Belarus among its members with full authority.
Carlsen: Kasparov would also advise…
– In Garri’s great respect, I would say, I’m sure, he would take the opportunity to advise not to restore the rights of the Russian and Belarusian chess federations, so I will do the same, said Carlsen, measuring the weight of his words on pharmacy scales, but clearly.
As we wrote, the Kyrgyz Chess Federation proposed to the FIDE General Assembly on Sunday that the organization should take the Russian Federation back among its members. FIDE suspended the full membership of the two countries due to the war in Ukraine, according to which, for example, Russia and Belarus cannot participate in team competitions, such as the Budapest Chess Olympiad.
How does FIDE decide on Russia?
At the same time, FIDE has not applied zero tolerance towards several international sports federations, and Russian chess players – although under the FIDE flag – can participate in international individual tournaments. And to make the picture even more mixed, Russian chess players are listed under their own nationality in the FIDE world rankingswhat’s more, the Russian president of FIDE, who has been in office since 2018, Arkady Dvorkovich, was re-elected in the summer of 2022. Dvorkovich, who as a politician was also Russian Deputy Prime Minister, probably owes this to the fact that he openly condemned the Russian invasionexpressing sympathy for Ukraine.
It is not even more natural that with Ukraine at the forefront, the majority of European countries argue against the readmission of Russians and Belarusians – the European Chess Federation also issued a statement to this effect – but FIDE has 203 member countries, so the outcome of Sunday’s vote is uncertain, and it can also be a clear impression of what the countries of the world think about the war in Ukraine and Russia’s responsibility.
On Sunday, in addition to the final round of the Chess Olympiad, a lively chess game will take place in the meeting room. Magnus Carlsen can then only do for the prosperity of Norway.
In the 9th round of the Chess Olympiad on Friday, the Hungarian men’s team will meet the United States.
Source: magyarnemzet.hu
