Chess regulatory body extends Russian, Belarusian players neutral status for tournaments

The World Chess Federation (FIDE) has granted Russian and Belarusian chess players permission to take part in international tournaments under the organization’s neutral flag until January 1, 2024.

As TASS reported, referring to the official FIDE website, the organization gave the following statement:

"The FIDE Council approved the […] changes to the simplified procedure for participating under the FIDE flag for players representing Russia/Belarus - The right to play under the FIDE flag is granted until January 1, 2024, unless decided otherwise.

"After this period, in the absence of other requests, the player will automatically revert back to the previous federation".

The FIDE previously granted permission to individual chess players representing Russia and Belarus to play in international tournaments under a neutral status on February 28, just a few days after the beginning of the Russian attacks on Ukraine but announced that it would not hold official chess competitions and events in the two countries.