Russian chess grandmasters slam invasion of Ukraine in joint appeal to Putin

Nearly three dozen top Russian chess players, including a recent challenger for the world crown, a former women’s world champion and a grandmaster who has won the Russian national title eight times, have issued an “official appeal” to President Vladimir Putin condemning the invasion of Ukraine and calling for the fighting to cease.

Chess is the country’s national game, and players from Russia, and before that the Soviet Union, dominated international competitions for much of the 20th century. Even today, Russia boasts more grandmasters by far than any other country.

“We oppose military actions on the territory of Ukraine and call for an early cease-fire and a peaceful solution to the conflict through dialogue and diplomatic negotiations,” the letter published on a Russian chess website read in part. “It is unbearably painful for us to see the catastrophe that is happening these days to our people.”

“We share the pain of our Ukrainian colleagues and call for peace,” the letter added. “… Stop the war!”

Russian chess has already faced blowback from the week-old war: The biennial Chess Olympiad, drawing national teams from nearly 200 nations and set for Moscow this summer, has been canceled and there have been calls to block all Russian and Belarusian players from international competition.

Russian chess players who have expressed support for the invasion, including former world champion Anatoly Karpov, face ethics charges and sanctions from the game’s Paris-based governing body.

Among those signing Thursday’s letter were Ian Nepomniachtchi, who lost a world title match to reigning champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway last fall; former women’s world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk; and eight-time Russian national champion Grandmaster Peter Svidler.

A number of other Russian chess stars, including current Russian champion Nikita Vitiugov, did not sign the letter but have made clear their own opposition to the Ukraine invasion in public remarks.

The letter was re-tweeted without comment on the official Russian Chess Federation website. A total of 32 Russian players, organizers and chess journalists signed the appeal.