FIDE statistics show 104 Russian chess players changed sports citizenship in 2023

A total of 104 Russian chess players changed their national affiliations in 2023, according to a report by Sports.ru citing statistics from the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

The following chess players quit the Russian national chess federation:

• Sanan Sjugirov (ranked 40th in the world), now represents Hungary;
• Alexey Sarana (41st), now represents Serbia;
• Vladimir Fedoseev (45th), now represents Slovenia;
• Nikita Vitiugov (50th), now represents England;
• Alexandr Predke (64th), now represents Serbia;
• Kirill Alekseenko (89th), now represents Austria;
• Alexandra Kosteniuk (No. 11 in FIDE’s women's rankings as of January 2024), now represents Switzerland.

Five competitors transferred their affiliation to the Russian chess federation last year: Yuriy Ajrapetjan and Viktor Filonov from Ukraine, David Bukata from Australia, Kanan Geidarli from Azerbaijan, and Nadezhda Iskichekova from Kazakhstan.

The highest place in the FIDE ranking of the listed athletes is occupied by Ajrapetjan, who currently ranks 862nd.

192 Russian chess players have changed their national sporting affiliations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as per FIDE.

Cover photo: Sanan Sjugirov at a chess tournament. Photo by Eteri Kublashvili.