Russian chess advances its pawns against Putin

The game of chess regularly invites itself into the military universe, with its assaults, its strategy, its sacrifices and its tactical moves… the reverse is rarer. However, the war that has been raging in Ukraine since the end of February has indeed burst into the hushed world of the 64 boxes. Even if Russia no longer collects world champions as was the case under the Soviet era, the discipline, the object of popular enthusiasm for a century, is still almost a national sport there. And the Kremlin has kept an eye, even a grip, on the king of games, in particular through a certain control of the International Chess Federation: since 1995, its presidents have been Russians.

Despite this, everything seems to have escaped him in recent weeks. Starting with the Russian players. On March 3, just a few days after the start of the conflict, 44 of them, most of them great masters, published an open letter to President Putin starting with these words: “We are against any military action on the territory of Ukraine and call for an immediate ceasefire and a peaceful solution to the conflict through dialogue and diplomatic negotiations. For us, it is unbearably painful to see the disaster that is happening these days with our people. » It ends with three words that sound like an order: “Stop the war. »

“Signing this open letter was extremely courageous because most of those who did live in Russia. » Eloi Relange, President of the French Chess Federation

The list of signatories to this open letter begins with two prestigious names in Russian chess. The first is that of the current Russian number 1 and vice-world champion, Ian Nepomniachtchi, the second, that of Alexandra Kosteniouk, who was world champion in 2008 and holds the world crown in rapid games. We also note the presence in this list of Daniil Doubov, great hope of Russian chess, and Peter Svidler, eight times Russian champion – a record.

For Eloi Relange, president of the French Chess Federation, “Signing this open letter was extremely courageous because most of those who did it live in Russia, and it’s not so easy to be offended against power”.

“Hearing the news of the invasion of Ukraine, I felt shock, sadness, anger. » Pavel Tregubov, Grand Master

Contrary to what he does in front of the chessboard, Grand Master Pavel Tregubov – who is also the husband of Alexandra Kosteniouk – did not seek to calculate the risks of sanctions he was taking by adding his name to the list of signatories. : “This letter, Alexandra and I read it and we agreed to sign it because we simply wanted to express ourselves, he said to World magazine. Hearing the news of the invasion of Ukraine, I felt shock, sadness, anger, the feeling that life would never be the same as before. Until the last moment, despite the signs, we did not believe it. »

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