The best chess player in the world spoke out against Russia, saying it to the face of the Russian president of FIDE. Video

The 16th world chess champion Magnus Carlsen has spoken out against the restoration of Russia and Belarus' membership in the International Federation (FIDE). The Norwegian grandmaster disagreed with the plans of FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich to return the representatives of the aggressor countries to the organization's tournaments under national flags.

Carlsen made this statement during the ceremony of awarding him the best chess player of this century, the video of which was published on the FIDE page on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter. In his speech, which he delivered to Dvorkovich's face, the Norwegian mentioned Garry Kasparov and his position on Russian aggression against Ukraine.

"It's a bit strange to receive this award, because I'm still an active player. Of course, I had to accept the award, but I think Garry Kasparov has had a better career than me. I understand why I received this award, but I still think he deserves it more. This is in his honor. I'm sure he would have used the opportunity to advise us not to lift the sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian chess federations. That's what I'm saying," Carlsen said.

Earlier this week it became known that the Russians had been reinstated in FIDE, despite the fact that the Russian Chess Federation had included national committees from the occupied territories of Ukraine. The aggressors' expulsion from FIDE was replaced by a fine of $45,000.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, the 2001 world chess champion Ruslan Ponomaryov criticized the FIDE leadership, accusing it of defending the interests of Russians.

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