Russian media outlet ‘Sport Express’ reported on the FIDE Council’s plans for the 2026 Chess Olympiad. The Council plans to issue a final decision on the admission of Russian players to the event on 23 August. The decision will be based on two conflicting factors.

FIDE suspended the Russian Chess Federation (RCF) for 3 years on June 10. The suspension followed RCF’s failure to stop holding chess events in Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) declared the restrictive recommendations against Russia invalid on July 7. The IOC allowed Russian athletes to return to international competition and reinstated the Russian Olympic Committee.

If the restrictions are lifted, the Russian national team will participate in the Olympiad for the first time since 2018. The country’s No. 1, Ian Nepomniachtchi, expects a positive decision from the FIDE Council:

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Russia's No. 1

“The second half of the year will have a busy schedule.

In September, the Global Chess League in India and, I hope, the Olympiad in Samarkand. Then the Total Chess Championship, Esports Nations Cup, and the World Rapid and Blitz Championships.”

The Chess Olympiad is a prestigious national team competition. The event is held every two years and organized by FIDE. The Russian national team won 6 consecutive gold medals from 1992 to 2002. The Open and Women’s teams of Russia finished in 4th place in their last appearance at the event in 2018.

Credit: Lennart Ootes