Ukraine

[Mick Norris]

Putting this here (spotted in another thread):

https://www.fide.com/news/1650

Monday, 21 Mar 2022 12:24
FIDE Ethics imposes a six-month ban on Karjakin

[...]

"“The statements by Sergey Karjakin on the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine has led to a considerable number of reactions on social media and elsewhere, to a large extent negative towards the opinions expressed by Sergey Karjakin”, reads point 7.37 of the 10-page document where the EDC explains the reasons and legal background for its decision."

[...]

“The EDC Chamber finds, against the background given above, on the standard of comfortable satisfaction that the statements of Sergey Karjakin, which, by his own choice and presentation, can be connected to the game of chess, damage the reputation of the game of chess and/or FIDE. The likelihood that these statements will damage the reputation of Sergey Karjakin personally is also considerable”, it concludes.

[...]

Karjakin latest

The latest comments from 2016 World Championship challenger Sergey Karjakin are, however, a reminder that Karjakin is far from representative of Russian chess, since many top players and chess federation officials have stood against the war despite the personal risks involved.

Ian Nepomniachtchi, who Sergey worked for in the run-up to the 2021 World Championship match against Magnus Carlsen, has now become a challenge for Kremlin propaganda.

On the one hand, he's one of the few Russian sporting heroes left after restrictions were placed on most sports, but on the other hand, he's been clearly anti-war from the moment Russia invaded Ukraine while he was playing the Airthings Masters Meltwater Champions Chess Tour event.

How would Sergey Karjakin approach the situation? He's chosen to denounce Russia's no. 1 chess player and many more of his former colleagues.

[Matt Mackenzie]

He's the equivalent of a Johnson "bitter ender" over here really

[AlanLlewellyn]

Matt under the marxist dominion of socialism it has gone from being something positive and inclusive to an exclusive, divisive, negative, self destructive cult. It wasnt always like that Christian socialism and humanist socialism were about things like the right to a roof over your head, equality in the law, mutual respect in society, a hard pay for a hard days work, democratic respect of all elements in society. All things which even right wingers applaud. And what has replaced it is a hatred of anyone different to the metropolitan elite. Follow or be damned is the marxist theology.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

There are reports that in the recent engagements large areas of Ukraine have been retaken and that the Russian army formations are collapsing and the 'retreat' is turning into a rout. Could be a real turning point in the war.

[Joey Stewart]

It feels like Russia are going to have to cut their losses and withdraw at some point - with the vast military aid being poured into the Ukraine it must now be starting to feel more like being at war with a superpower for them.

[Chris Goodall]

And Russia won't get a second bite at a city like Izium, because for better or worse, the citizens who collaborated with the Russians the first time will not be left in a position to do so again.

[Roger Lancaster]

Or Putin might just think, what's the point of having tacticaI (battIefieId) nucIear weapons if we don't use them?

[Matt Mackenzie]

He may indeed think that, but whether everyone around him will agree is another matter. And if he is in a desperate enough position to feasibly want to use them, it is also likely that his overall position has become so weakened that such orders are less likely to be obeyed anyway.

[AlanLlewellyn]

freedom of speech wont feed our people eh mattf and other such lies.

[Simon Rogers]

Or Putin might just think, what's the point of having tacticaI (battIefieId) nucIear weapons if we don't use them?

You're absolutely right, Roger.
Especially with the Germans agreeing to supply tanks now, Putin sees this as an escalation.
The ultimate question, which was s title of a Channel 4 documentary last year:
"Will Putin go nuclear?"

[Matt Mackenzie]

Very little actual evidence to believe tanks make this a significantly more likely prospect.

Russian propagandists have claimed literally everything as an "intolerable escalation" since this conflict started, and indeed before that even.

[Simon Rogers]

I hope you are right.
I notice that the President of Ukraine is now asking for fighter jets.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"I notice that the President of Ukraine is now asking for fighter jets."

As UK now has more F35s than pilots qualified to fly them, he might be lucky.

[Joey Stewart]

I would say the main potential danger is not in aiding the Ukrainians (Russian leaders have seen the USA undermining their military campaigns for the best part of 50 years now and not resorted to nuclear escalation so it's not likely that will change here) but more if they are over armed to the extent they beat back the invaders to the point they feel confident to extract vengeance. And, let's face it, they more then deserve the right to roll into Moscow with guns blazing for all the pain the Russians have inflicted upon them but it would almost certainly result in a nuclear retaliation so you can see why the Western nations are walking a fine line as to how much aid they provide.

[Chris Goodall]

There's a polite post-Nuremberg fiction that you aren't allowed to follow an "illegal order". The rule can be more accurately stated as "if you're about to lose the war anyway, don't piss the other side off too much". The Russian officers with the nuclear launch codes know that if the Ukrainians are rolling into Moscow, Putin is not going to protect them any more.