International Chess Federation votes in favour of bringing back Russian and Belarusian national symbols

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) General Assembly has voted to restore national symbols for Russian and Belarusian players.

Source: FIDE's press service

Details: Two resolutions were put to a vote: one submitted by the Russian Chess Federation and another by the FIDE Council.

The Russian proposal called for the full restoration of the rights of the athletes concerned, while the FIDE Council proposed restoring rights only for juniors, in line with International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommendations.

In the end, delegates voted in favour of both resolutions. The Russian resolution received 61 votes in favour and 51 against, with 15 abstentions and 14 countries not voting. The FIDE Council's resolution was supported by 69 votes in favour, 40 against, with 15 abstentions and 17 not voting.

As a result, both decisions entered into legal force, and FIDE adopted the following measures:

• allowing participants from Russia and Belarus to compete in team events;
• restoring the use of national symbols at the junior level in accordance with IOC recommendations;
• permitting official FIDE events to be held in Belarus.

As for the use of national flags and anthems at senior level, the federation said it will hold consultations with the IOC before taking an additional decision.

It is worth noting that for a simple decision to be adopted, only a majority of "yes" votes is required, excluding abstentions. For important decisions, a two-thirds majority of those present is needed. Therefore, the General Assembly voted to restore national symbols for Russians and Belarusians under general procedures, rather than treating the issue as an important decision.

Background:

• Russian chess players began to be suspended from FIDE competitions following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In particular, the International Chess Federation excluded Russian national teams from competitions and banned the use of the Russian flag, anthem and official representatives at all international events.
• Subsequently, FIDE allowed Russia's women's team to compete in the World Championship under neutral status and also granted wild cards to two Russian players for participation in the World Cup.

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