During the FIDE General Assembly held online on 14 December, national delegates voted on two separate resolutions regarding the status of russian and Belarusian chess players. The first resolution was filed by the russian Chess Federation, while the second resolution was proposed by the FIDE Council.
Both resolutions referenced recent decisions and recommendations by the International Olympic Committee regarding players from russia and Belarus. The FIDE Council resolution also referenced the recent Olympic Summit decision, based on the IOC EB recommendation, noting that “youth athletes with a russian or Belarusian passport should no longer be restricted in their access to international youth competitions, in both individual and team sports… In addition, the standard protocols of the IF or the International Sports Event Organiser regarding flags, anthems, uniforms and other elements should apply, provided that the national sports organisation concerned is in good standing. The above principles should apply to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and are recommended for adoption by all IFs and International Sports Event Organisers for their own youth events.”In a procedural outcome, reflecting the diversity of views within the chess community, the General Assembly voted to adopt both the resolution proposed by the Chess Federation of russia (61 votes in favour, 51 against, 14 abstentions and 15 delegates not voting) and the resolution proposed by the FIDE Council (69 votes in favour, 40 against, 15 abstentions and 17 delegates not voting).
