Sergey Karjakin will not take part in the World Chess Cup, which will be held from July 29 to August 25 in Baku. This information was confirmed by RT athlete manager Kirill Zangalis.
Earlier, the Russian grandmaster said that it was unacceptable for him to perform in a neutral status, as required by the International Chess Federation.
Karjakin received an invitation to the World Cup at the end of May as the owner of the second result at the 2021 tournament. In addition to him, the list included Vladimir Fedoseev, Anton Demchenko, Arseny Nesterov, Andrey Esipenko, David Paravyan, and among women - Alexandra Goryachkina, Leia Garifullina and Alina Bivol. Players must confirm their participation by June 2. It is noteworthy that Karjakin won the only victory in the World Cup in the capital of Azerbaijan in 2015.
"This is my favorite tournament, it is a knockout system, I have been very successful there more than once. But the fact is that specifically in the upcoming tournament I will not be able to represent my country, I will not be able to play under my flag and, if successful, I will not be able to hear the anthem of Russia. Accordingly, I am categorically against this, my position does not change, I have expressed it many times," Sergey said in his Telegram channel.
At the same time, he asked subscribers to express their point of view regarding the correctness of his position.
"Nevertheless, I would like to hear your opinion, because I rely heavily on my subscribers. It is important for me to hear your words of support. Vote on what is the right thing to do," the grandmaster asked, publishing a corresponding survey. At the time of publication of the material, more than 11 thousand people took part in it, and the vast majority - more than 90% - spoke out against speaking in a neutral status.
Earlier, Karjakin has repeatedly stated that he will not play in tournaments without the tricolor.
"I am glad that I have never performed under a neutral flag, and I do not strive for this. He did not express a principled position in order to speak without the Russian flag later. Therefore, the neutral status does not suit me," the chess player told RIA Novosti in September last year.
Therefore, according to international grandmaster Sergey Shipov, the athlete had no choice but to confirm his own words and abandon the World Cup.
"He loudly announced many times that he would not play without a flag and anthem, and the International Chess Federation takes an irreconcilable position on this issue. Sergei could not back down and compromise his principles. When chess fans asked me a week before the deadline what were the chances that Karjakin would go to the World Cup, I answered: exactly 0%," Shipov said in an interview with RT.
Karjakin was suspended for six months from any competitions under the auspices of FIDE in March 2022 for publicly supporting the NWO. During the disqualification, he played in some exhibition tournaments, and at the end of it he tested his strength in rapid chess. At the same time, he ran for the presidency of the Russian Chess Federation, but lost to Andrei Filatov. The athlete was also elected to the Public Chamber.
The grandmaster returned to official competitions only in April - at the Russian Team Championship in Sochi. He arrived there in a new status for himself - as president of the Moscow Region Chess Federation. It was this performance that allowed Karjakin to restore his FIDE rating: according to the version of June 1, the domestic athlete occupies the 11th position.
According to Shipov, despite the current situation, the former contender for the chess crown will still have the opportunity to return to the international level. The only question is whether the grandmaster will be able to maintain his form and skills for several years. According to Shipov, it is unlikely that Karjakin is now engaged in chess as intensively as during the heyday of his career.
"Life is a complicated thing, a lot can change. In the future, everything may get better, although now it is difficult to imagine how this can happen. My prediction: in five years, Sergei will return to the international arena with both the flag and the anthem. But the lost years — and he's already missed a year and a half — is a big blow to opportunities. Now Karjakin is in his prime, and five years, even for a chess player, is a lot. Of course, you can play at 35 and 40 years old, but competitors do not sleep, young people are growing up, "the interlocutor of RT summed up.
In turn, the twelfth world champion Anatoly Karpov expressed regret that the Russian grandmaster has to sacrifice a major tournament because of his views.
"Sergei refused, and this is his principled position. And the fact that FIDE is forced to deal with political issues is a disgrace to the chess world. Over the past hundred years, there has never been such a situation," the honorary president of the RCF emphasized.