"They don't care about the rest": Russian world champion staged a riot and refused to play in Russia

World Rapid champion Volodar Murzin was outraged by the words of former Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov, who suggested that the 18-year-old chess player was "ready to sell out and play for another country." The grandmaster called this statement complete nonsense and added that it discouraged him from playing in Russia.

Murzin said this in an interview with Sports.ru. The athlete noted that he does not want to have anything to do with the Russian Chess Federation (RCF), which defends the interests of only loyal athletes, and also criticized Russian officials for their complete disregard for their compatriots.

"I don't know where Pavel Kolobkov got the idea that I am 'ready to sell out to another country. I just want to do what I love. But I don't want to have anything to do with the leadership of the RCF, which supports only "its children and athletes" and doesn't care about the rest. So chess is dying in the regions. I was just lucky that I met good people and developed as a chess player. Unfortunately, many other children do not have this opportunity. After such statements, I have no desire to play in Russia, because all Russian competitions are held under the flag of the RCF. And I will have no cooperation with the current leadership of the RCF," Murzin said.

It is worth noting that the recent World Rapid Chess Championship was turned into a real laughingstock by the gold medal of Russian athlete Yan Nepomnyashchiy.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Ukrainian Vasyl Ivanchuk burst into tears after losing a game at the World Rapid Championship.

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