The Iceberg

12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov too commented on the six-month ban imposed by FIDE Ethics & Disciplinary Commission on Grandmaster Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin because of his pro-Russia political views with regard to the Russo–Ukrainian war. “I consider the decision of the Ethics Commission to be absolutely illegal. They do not have such rights to disqualify a player, especially of such a rank. I regard this as the beginning of the end of the International Chess Federation”, Karpov said, as quoted by RBC. When then asked about Karjakin’s intention to create a new chess organisation, Karpov said: “If Sergey Alexandrovich felt thus, and if he is ready to do it, then he must have felt time coming on. Initially, in 1924, the founders of the International Chess Federation prided in the motto: Gens una sumus. Now its meaning is being trampled by FIDE’s policies. They forgot where and who they were”.