Ukraine Challenges Russian Return at World Women’s Team Championship
In the sunny hills of Linares, Spain, the 2025 FIDE World Women’s Team Chess Championship kicked off with a bang—not on the board, but from a heated geopolitical debate. As the players got ready to delve into the novel 45-minute fast classical format in Linares, off the board, a storm brewed over Team FIDE, a squad entirely composed of Russian players waving a neutral banner. Leading the charge: top talents like Aleksandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno, whose early victories over the United States and Kazakhstan propelled their group to the top after the opening round.
This “Team FIDE” marks a tentative re-entry for Russian chess players, relegated since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine prompted global sports bodies, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to bar them from competitions under their national flag. Yet, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) greenlit their participation as a neutral entity, sparking outrage from Ukraine’s delegation.
Team Ukraine, fielding a youthful lineup short of its elite players amid boycott threats, lodged a formal complaint with Spanish authorities and appealed to the IOC, arguing FIDE’s move defies international sanctions and risks normalizing Russia’s return. Protests mounted online and in halls, with calls for a full withdrawal unless the all-Russian unit is disqualified. FIDE, however, stood firm, citing no formal IOC veto and emphasizing chess’s apolitical ethos. Insiders whisper that full readmission of Russian teams looms on FIDE’s December General Assembly docket, potentially reshaping the game’s global landscape. One of the most prominent and unhinged chess personalities, Peter Heine Nielsen (Magnus Carlsen’s trainer), posted this on X:
As boards reset for Round 4—Ukraine reeling from a narrow loss to Georgia—the championship presses on, a microcosm of divided loyalties. For players like Goryachkina, it’s a chance to reclaim the spotlight; Going into the final two rounds of the pool stage, the Russian Team playing under the FIDE flag remains undefeated.
