Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi shared his thoughts on the low activity of Russian chess players on the international stage. Nepomniachtchi proposes a theory about a ‘shadow ban,’ explaining that since 2024, Russian players have not received invitations to prestigious international tournaments.

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Russia's No. 1

“Russian players are currently in a so-called shadow ban. This ban appeared about two years ago.

It didn’t start immediately in 2022, I think, because it was difficult to ignore a chess player from the Top 15 of the world ranking — Sergey Karjakin. But as soon as an opportunity arose — FIDE did not neglect the opportunity to take action.

I was invited once to Wijk aan Zee in 2024. And I was invited once to the Grand Chess Tour. But I honestly don’t recall any of our grandmasters playing anywhere except China. All Russian grandmasters stopped appearing at prestigious tournaments in 2024.

Well, I think that says something, doesn’t it?”

FIDE formally suspended the national teams of Russia and Belarus from all official team competitions in 2022. Following the suspension, FIDE created a path for individual players from these countries to continue competing under a neutral flag. FIDE previously removed Sergey Karjakin from the official rating list in June 2024 following two years of inactivity in rated competitions.

Credit: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE