Russian Chess Federation to leave European Chess Union for Asian Chess Federation

The Chess Federation of Russia (FCR) is set to change its continental body from the European Chess Union (ECU) to the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) following war with Ukraine. 

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) banned the Russian team from events following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the body is now exploring changing its continental body to Asia after the Olympic Council of Asia proposed that Russians who were banned from European competition could freely compete in Asian competition.

An ECU statement said “Any Federation that is a member of the ECU may request termination of membership in the union and withdrawal from the continental zone. These zones are determined by the statutes and rules of FIDE. According to the recent repeated statements by the head of the FCR Andrey Filatov, the transition to the ACF is a purely technical matter, the decision will be confirmed at the General Assembly of the Asian Federation. If the ECU does not receive a clear statement from FIDE against this move, we will consider that the FCR has received a green light for the transition to Asia.  Given the date of the General Assembly and the fact that the Federation cannot belong to two continents at once, the ECU expects the FCR to withdraw from its membership by February 24.” February 24 2022 is the day that Russian troops first invaded Ukraine.