At the General Assembly of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Azerbaijan was among the countries that supported a compromise solution regarding the admission of Russian and Belarusian chess players to international competitions.
According to Idman.Biz, the proposal to follow the recommendations of the FIDE Council and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was put forward by FIDE First Vice President Viswanathan Anand, as well as delegates from Kenya, Azerbaijan, Barbados and India.
It should be noted that Azerbaijan was represented in the vote by the president of the national chess federation and FIDE Vice President Mahir Mammadov.
Earlier, the Russian Chess Federation proposed lifting all sanctions against Russian and Belarusian chess players, including allowing participation in team competitions under their national flags. The FIDE Council supported partial liberalization, permitting juniors to compete with national symbols, while adult national teams would be allowed to take part in team events under neutral status.
Delegates from Ukraine, Norway, England, Germany and several other countries opposed the full removal of restrictions, along with the head of the European Chess Union, Zurab Azmaiparashvili.
It is worth noting that Zurab Azmaiparashvili was previously closely associated with Azerbaijani chess, having served as captain of the Azerbaijan men’s national team. In particular, under his leadership in 2009, Azerbaijan won the European Championship for the first time.
In the end, 61 delegates voted in favor of lifting all restrictions, while 51 voted against. After that, the majority supported the option of allowing Russian chess players to compete under a neutral flag. The final decision was postponed pending additional consultations.
