How Russia lost chess

Quick Overview

Russian influence in global chess, historically dominated by the USSR/Russia, is declining due to sanctions and internal political maneuvering by FIDE leadership, resulting in fewer Russian players receiving invitations to top super-tournaments, even as former Russian officials like Arkady Dvorkovich remain influential within FIDE.

Key Points: The USSR/Russia produced 26 World Chess Champions between 1886-2025, far more than the next country (India/German Empire with 6 each). In the 1970s, the US-Soviet Cold War dynamic was highlighted by the 1972 World Championship match between Boris Spassky (Soviet) and Bobby Fischer (American) in Iceland. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov (1995-2018), a former Russian politician, was linked to offshore firms controlling lucrative game rights and was accused of promoting Russian foreign policy. Current FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, a former Russian deputy prime minister, was initially sanctioned by FIDE's Ethics Commission in June 2023 for organizing tournaments in occupied territories, but this ruling was overturned on appeal. FIDE's tournament budget grew dramatically from €3 million in 2016 to approximately €18 million by 2023, with significant funding tied to sponsors linked to Moscow. Due to sanctions following the 2022 Ukraine invasion, Russian players saw a drop in super-tournament invites from 30 in 2021 to 12 in 2022, before rising slightly to 21 in 2023, while Indian players like Gukesh Dommaraju began winning more invitations. Russian top players like Sergey Karjakin are reportedly refusing to play without the Russian flag and anthem, leading to them being unranked in recent FIDE top player lists.

Context: This video analyzes the historical and contemporary geopolitical influence of Russia (and the Soviet Union) on the world of professional chess, focusing on how political alignments, state sponsorship, and recent sanctions related to the war in Ukraine are shifting the balance of power away from Russian dominance.