According to the reigning world chess champion Magnus Carlsen, he doubts the need to remove the Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin from all tournaments held under the auspices of FIDE.
Previously, Karjakin, who was born and raised in Crimea, wrote an open letter in support of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. After that, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) decided to remove the Russian from all tournaments because of his political views. Thus, he will not be able to take part in the Candidates Tournament, which he qualified for by finishing second at the World Cup in 2021.
In an interview with VG, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen noted that it is difficult for him to give an objective assessment of this situation, since it is completely new, and there are not many parallels in this story. “Of course, I don’t agree with Karjakin’s position, but is it right to exclude people for an opinion that we don’t like? I’m not sure. Perhaps it will pay off in a difficult moment, but a precedent will be created,” the world champion explained.