World Rapid Chess Champion (Astana, 2012) and World Blitz Champion (Doha, 2016) Sergey Karjakin, who changed his citizenship from Ukrainian to Russian in 2009, called his refusal to play at the World Cup under a neutral flag a commitment to his principles. The fan of dictator Vladimir Putin noted that he would not forgive himself if he took part in the tournament without the symbols of the aggressors.

Karyakin said this in a commentary to the propaganda news agency TASS. The ardent Z-patriot and fan of the war in his native country admitted with pathos that he still wanted to play in the World Cup in a neutral status, but later changed his mind.

"We are not robots, we are people. There were some hesitations about participating in the World Cup, but I took my position and made my decision. Going against your principles, I believe, will not allow you to achieve success either on or off the board. Most importantly, I wouldn't forgive myself if I went against my principles," Karjakin said.

Earlier, FIDE Director General Emil Sutovsky spoke harshly of Sergey Karjakin, saying that he had "become a patriot" of Russia. The chess player admired how "Russia fights nobly, without killing civilians".

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Karyakin has been supporting the "SVO" and demonstrating the z-symbol in every possible way, for which he received a six-month disqualification from the international federation.

On June 2 last year, Karjakin received the state award of the aggressor country. This event was called a real shame online and the official reason for the authorities' decision was questioned.

Last year, Sergey travelled to Donetsk to deliver aid to the 117th rifle regiment of the 'people's police' of the 'DPR'.

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