Today, June 2nd, 2022, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin granted Sergey Karjakin a state award of the order “For Merit to the Fatherland”. There are two types of medals – one for civilians and one for the military division. The civilian awards recognize Russians with outstanding contributions to the state and it is being presented to citizens of the Russian Federation with eminent achievements in various fields of industry, construction, science, education, health, culture, transport, and sports. The same medal of the military division is being granted to members of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for great contribution to the defense of the Motherland, for success in maintaining the high combat readiness of the central organs of military administration, military units, and organizations, for strengthening the rule of law and order, for ensuring public safety…
Five years ago, Vladimir Putin met Sergey Karjakin and congratulated him on his sports achievements, and also thanked him for the development of chess. The full transcription of the meeting can be found here
Sergey Karjakin showed his proudness to get the Russian award of the second level saying: “Thanks a lot! I serve Russia!” on his official Telegram account. (scroll down for the full text)
Two months ago, the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission banned Sergey Karjakin for 6 months from FIDE competitions. The EDC First Instance Chamber, formed by Yolander Persaud (Guyana), Ravindra Dongre (India), and Johan Sigeman (Sweden) as Chairperson, unanimously decided as follows:
Sergey Karjakin is found guilty of breach of article 2.2.10 of the FIDE Code of Ethics, and is sanctioned to a worldwide ban of six months from participating as a player in any FIDE rated chess competition, taking effect from the date of this decision, 21 March 2022.
As a result, Sergey Karjakin was not able to participate in Candidates Chess 2022, and he appealed to FIDE. The Appeal Chamber of the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission (EDC) formed by its Chairperson Mr. Francois Strydom, and members Mr. Khaled Arfa and Mr. David Hater, announced its decision to dismiss the appeal presented by Karjakin, confirming the initial decision on the 6 months ban.
Karjakin qualified the initial decision of FIDE as “shameful” on his Telegram channel, adding “I don’t see the point of appealing – any court will take the side of Europe.”. After the EDC dismissed his appeal, the Russian Grandmaster announced “It’s the turn of the sports courts!” alluding that he will put the appeal on FIDE’s decisions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). All Karjakin’s case news can be found here
