44 Top Russian Players Write an Open Letter to Putin, Demanding “Stop the War”

Top Russian chess players released an open letter to Vladimir Putin, the president of the Russian Federation, in which they firmly opposed the war in Ukraine and showed support for the Ukrainian people.

GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, the most recent challenger for the world title, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, the 12th Women’s World Champion and Director of ChesscomRU, GM Peter Svidler, an eight-time Russian champion, GM Andrey Esipenko, GM Daniil Dubov, and many others are among the signees.

The five Russian players who are currently competing in the FIDE Grand Prix in Belgrade are not included on the list of signees, while FIDE General Director GM Emil Sutovsky stated on Twitter that it is likely because to technical difficulties that Grand Prix players were unable to sign.

Particularly GM Alexander Grischuk and GM Nikita Vitiugov, the current Russian Champion, have previously expressed their adamant opposition to the conflict, with Grischuk making his remarks during a news conference after game one and Vitiugov making his on Twitter.

Unsurprisingly absent from the list of signatories is GM Sergey Karjakin, a current contender and previous World Championship 2016 Challenger, whose pro-war remarks prompted FIDE to launch an ethics investigation into his actions.

The Duma, the lower house of the Russian government, is also missing, as is former world champion GM Anatoly Karpov, who voted to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

Karpov and the other members who cast the same votes have received criticism from the EU.

Russian chess players’ letter to the Russian Federation’s president.

“We are against any military action on the territory of Ukraine and call for an immediate ceasefire and a peaceful decision to the conflict through the path of dialogue and diplomatic negotiations. For us, it is unbearably painful to see the catastrophe that is happening these days with our people.

“We’ve played for Russia in individual and, which is a special honor, team competitions. We are sure that chess and sports in general should unite people. Our country has done its best to organize the most complex and prestigious international events even on the peak of the pandemic.

“Chess teaches you to be responsible for your actions; each move is meaningful and a mistake can bring you to a fatal point of no return. This used to be a sport, but now the human lives, human rights and freedoms, human dignity, the present and the future of our countries are at stake.

“During these tragic days we are thinking of all the people caught in the midst of this frightful conflict. We share the pain of our Ukrainian colleagues and call for peace.”

We demand peace and sympathize with our Ukrainian colleagues’ suffering.

“The Ukrainian chess team is the reigning European team champion and one of the strongest teams in the world, like ours. We’ve played tens of matches and hundreds of games. For us, fair competition has always been above politics, and the Ukrainians shared this feeling. We beg you to preserve the chance for mutual respect among the teams, players and people from both countries.

“We support peace. Stop the war.”

LIST OF SIGNEES:

• Mark Glukhovsky
• IM Maksim Notkin
• GM Maksim Chigaev
• FM Anastasia Chigaeva
• GM Olga Badelko
• GM Pavel Ponkratov
• GM Alexandr Shimanov
• GM Igor Berdichvsky
• GM Ivan Rozum
• WIM Svetlana Ershova
• IM Evgeny Egorov
• GM Daniil Yuffa
• Anna Volkova
• WFM Eteri Kublashvili
• Yana Sidorchuk

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