“I think it depends on the individual; not every Russian player has such strong views,” said the 18-year-old Ottawa chess player, who holds the international women’s title and is one of Canada’s top athletes. “I do not know how I would feel. I’m a little confused.” Born in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, Demchenko has friends and relatives sleeping in bomb shelters at night. Amidst these concerns and her university studies, chess is not her top priority right now. Nevertheless, the war, which has been going on for more than a month, resonates far beyond Ukraine’s borders – and the chess world is no exception. The tournaments have been moved. A top Russian player has been sent off for backing Putin, while others are barred from playing due to travel restrictions. There have been calls for the Russian head of the governing body FIDE to resign, although he has spoken openly against the conflict.

“Evil and illegal”

Russia’s ties to chess are long and deep, with players such as Garry Kasparov, Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov and Mikhail Botvinnik dominating the game landscape for most of a century. The country has twice as many grand masters as any other, according to a 2021 post on chess.com, the most popular chess website. Tens of thousands play the game for fun. He’s just like a vicious child, taking revenge right now. — CFC President Vlad Draculak on Vladimir Putin
Thus, when Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine in March, it shocked the top levels of the fight, according to Viktor Plotkin, FIDE spokesman for the Canadian Chess Federation (CFC). The invasion prompted the CFC to condemn Russia’s “evil and illegal” actions and applaud the courage of the Ukrainian people. The federation also said that, for the time being, no Canadian would compete in official matches on Russian soil. While dozens of top Russian players have denounced Putin’s actions, some have remained loyal – including Sergei Karyakin, one of the best in the world. Prior to the war, Karjakin had qualified for the 2022 Candidates Tournament, an eight-person tournament to determine who will face Norwegian chess superstar Magnus Carlsen for the title of world champion in early 2023. But after his comments, FIDE sentenced Karjakin to six months in prison, which almost certainly means he will not be able to fight. “I think it’s right, but it’s a very strong FIDE decision,” Plotkin said. “It means that right at the top, Russia has a problem.” In this 2018 photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, second from the right, shakes hands with then-Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, second from the left, in the Kremlin. Dvorkovic now heads FIDE, the world chess governing body, and there have been calls for him to resign. (Alexander Zemlianichenko / The Associated Press)

The war in Ukraine “just seems crazy”

The dismissal of Karjakin, who was one victory away from becoming world champion in 2016, is not the only big development. Several players demanded the resignation of FIDE head Arkady Dvorkovich. This is due to Dvorkovich’s close ties to the Kremlin – he previously served as Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. Despite this, many believe that, apart from political ties, he has done a good job in the role. The 2022 Chess Olympiad, which brings together teams of players from countries around the world, has been moved from Moscow to Chennai, India. International sanctions, meanwhile, have cut funding for the sport as many Russian companies have sponsored top-level tournaments, said CFC President Vlad Drakulek. Plotkin and Drakulec say for now, the effects of the war are mostly felt at the highest levels, those that Canadian Grandmasters tend not to reach. (Since the FIDE rankings in April 2022, Canada has had no players in the top 100.) I just do not believe that could happen. — Svitlana Demchenko
The chessboard is not turning into a space for political disagreement either, Drakulec said, at least not between Canadian players of Russian and Ukrainian heritage. “In Canada, I do not know anyone who supports what [Putin’s] does there. And it just looks crazy, really. “He just seems to want to break it all,” he said. “He’s like a vicious kid taking revenge right now.”

Online gamblers make money

In the midst of all this uncertainty, the growing world of online chess has intensified to help the Ukrainian people. Shortly after the invasion, American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamuru – one of the top online players, with more than 1.4 million followers on the online gaming platform Twitch – broadcast chess content for 12 consecutive hours in a fundraiser that yielded more from $ 100,000 humanitarian aid efforts. “I think as a streamer, there has to be a social consequence that … you have to do something to help,” said Qiyu Zhou, a University of Toronto student who holds the title of Grandmother and broadcasts chess and other e-sports to thousands of fans. on its own Twitch channel. Chess player Qiyu Zhou, who holds the title of female grandmaster, says the online community has done a lot to raise money for Ukraine during the war. (Submitted by Qiyu Zhou)
Zhou participated in Nakamuru’s fundraiser and has hosted her own. Apart from “one or two trolls”, its currents were largely free of political back and forth, he said. The game’s international profile, Zhou added, makes online chess an ideal place to raise money during the conflict. “Chess players are definitely more coordinated [with the war] “from many other streamers, just because we have friends in Ukraine, friends in Russia,” Zhou said. “I do not blame anyone for that, but I feel that as a whole, the chess players did a very good job of raising money.” As for Demchenko, he said, while some online games may be “warmer” than before, he has seen overwhelming support for Ukrainian chess players – and the feeling is that almost everyone wants to help. “The situation is just very frightening and worrying,” Demchenko said. “I just do not believe that could happen.”