The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, partially upheld Ukraine's appeal in the case against the Russian Chess Federation and ordered the Russian side to cease activities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including Crimea.
The corresponding verdict was published on the official website of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The case of the Russian side's expulsion from the international chess community was initiated by Ukraine.
The lawsuit accused the Russian Chess Federation and the President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Arkady Dvorkovich of having ties to sanctioned individuals, organizing tournaments in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and failing to comply with the principle of political neutrality.
CAS did not overturn the decision on Russia's membership in FIDE, but it did oblige the Russian Chess Federation to cease all activities in the occupied territories of Ukraine. This includes, in particular, holding tournaments under the auspices of the Russian Federation and the legal exclusion of local chess clubs from the Russian Federation's structure.
The Russian side was given 90 days to implement this decision, in particular to cease operations in Crimea, Sevastopol, and the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions. After that, the Russian Federation must inform the court and FIDE about the implementation of the decision.
In case of failure to comply with the requirements, the Russian Chess Federation's membership in FIDE will be automatically suspended for three years, and restoration is possible only after the court decision is implemented.
Earlier, in September 2024, the FIDE Ethics Commission replaced the previous decision to suspend Russia's membership with a fine of 45,000 euros. However, after the new CAS decision, these funds must be returned to the Russian side, if they have already been paid, to fulfill the new conditions of the verdict.