Karjakin was traveling by car with the Russian army. At the video the Russian grandmaster shared, there was a damaged vehicle, but no injuries were initially reported. But then Karjakin issued a statement.

Update: Sergey Karjakin commented for Russian media, “On the way to our destination we were attacked by drones. Thank to the skill of our driver, we managed to escape with only slight injuries and broken windows.“

As it is usual in the past years, Karjakin enters the news without any specific chess merit and with absurd topics – from calling Magnus Carlsen a fascist, to suggesting parallel world chess federation, to falling under bans and sanctions.

Korchevnikov: Your six months ban is now long gone. You could have started competing long time ago.

Karjakin: The question is not that I could not participate 6 months in competitions rather that there was a very important event – the Candidates Tournament. The winner of this tournament could participate in the race for the title of World Champion. I have been denied this opportunity […] This is the highest of events and I am deeply offended. After that there was a tournament in the USA, but a Russian citizen could participate only if he signs a letter that you are against the Special Operation (ed.note the War Russia-Ukraine). So it turns out that you have to betray your country to participate.

Korchevnikov: So it turns out that the ban is over, but you have to necessarily sign this “pasquil” to participate in the competition, yet not under your country’s flag?

Karjakin: Yes, not under your country’s flag, this is 100% out of question.

Korchevnikov: Can you explain this to me. For me the beauty, the meaning of sport is to participate in a competition (defending) under flag (symbol) of your country.

Karjakin: I totally agree with you. I took a decision for myself a year ago not to participate in this way. I have stated my position long time ago. I do not judge the people that participate at tournaments at any cost. But this is not my way. The only thing I want to add to this topic is that the Russian Chess Federation took the correct decision to move from the European Chess Union to the Asian Chess Federation (ed. note see the ECU reaction here). This transfer will give us a chance to participate in Asian championships and they are much stronger than the European. Because now China and India have the best chess schools in the world.

Korchevnikov: But still there are [players] which participate and agree to this deal with their consciousness [with no flag, signing the anti-war letter]. Your colleague Ian, whose family name says it all [ed. note Nepomniachtchi roughly translates to “not remembering”] signed everything, signed this denial of his own country, and went on to compete under a neutral flag.

Karjakin: We stopped communicating with Ian an year ago. We have played many years together for the national team. But so to say, our ways have parted. Many people cannot judge right. As one of those negative examples we can give the statement of the World Champion Magnus Carlsen, who in general always has his own opinions. [Carlsen] looked normal, he is a European, yes he has doubts, but he always expressed normally when participating in discussions. And suddenly he said that Russians should not participate in international tournaments at all.

Korchevnikov: But this is fascism. Just fascism, right?

Karjakin: I was reluctant [shy/coy] to say this, but maybe it is.

[Follows a segment where Korchevnikov ardently speaks against Nepomniachtchi and Carlsen]

Korchevnikov: And now this Ian Nepomniachtchi will play against who?

Karjakin: With the Chinese Ding Liren.

Korchevnikov: Who are you rooting for?

Karjakin: From a chess player point of view, this match will be interesting, from a fan point of view it is not so important.

See Karjakin’s announcement below the picture

“Dear friends! I have important news!

In recent months, I have been actively and to the point criticizing the leadership of the Russian Chess Federation. I sincerely believed that constructive criticism would help the Federation to pay attention to the problematic aspects of its activities.

Alas, after 8 months I do not see any positive changes in the activities of the FSR (Russian Chess Federation). Executive Director Mark Glukhovsky, who initiated the signing of an open letter against the SVO (special military operation), lives quietly in Israel and still remains in his position, despite complete failures in management (at least absence from the workplace) and corruption scandals. The vast majority of chess players and regional federations do not receive any support from the FSR (Russian Chess Federation). Help for young, promising chess players is negligible. The main principle of the Federation is “Genius must be hungry.” Many talented athletes move to other countries, and no one even comes to dialogue with them. As a person who is not indifferent, I cannot stand aside and be silent!

Andrey Filatov, the incumbent FSR (Russian Chess Federation) President, recently announced that he will again run for a third term (he first led the FSR [Russian Chess Federation] in 2014). Federation emissaries have already spread the message to the regions that the elections will be uncontested, and have begun to collect signatures in favor of the “only” candidate.

A team of five vice-presidents is going to the elections with Filatov, all of them are respected and honored people who have done a lot for the development of chess, but the absence of the famous A.E. Karpov, who is the current vice-president of the FSR (Russian Chess Federation). Maybe the whole point is that he had the imprudence to agree with me on some issues of criticism of the activities of the FSR (Russian Chess Federation)?! However, the executive director plays a key role in the day-to-day activities of the Federation, and I regard the extension of Glukhovsky’s powers in this post as a spit in the face of the entire chess community.

Considering the above mentioned circumstances, after much deliberation, I decided to run for the post of President of the FSR (Russian Chess Federation)!

Yes, I might not be able to. Competitors are strong, and over the 8 years of government, a lot of “own people” have been placed.
But I feel it is my duty and a matter of honor to try to change the current situation!
I would really like our sport to develop, despite the current stagnation and stagnation.

My goal is to organize work with young talents, hold many new tournaments, and help in every way to ensure that our players and coaches do not go abroad in search of a better life. And it is equally important to organize real support for the regions from the federal center. Today, they are remembered once every 4 years before the next congress …

I guarantee that I will do my best to improve the activities of the Russian Chess Federation in all areas, I believe that if I am elected, I can give it a new impetus for development!

I express my gratitude to the Chess Federation of the Chechen Republic for nominating my candidacy! (According to the new rules of the FSR (Russian Chess Federation), a presidential candidate must go to the polls from an accredited regional federation).

If we do not win now, we will have to wait for a long 4 years, and there is no such time.
The current President of the Federation Filatov A.V. appointed himself as the head coach of the national teams. But it did not help us to win the Olympic gold.

Comprehensive development of chess in Russia is my task, mission and goal! I call on all caring people who are interested in the development of chess and want positive changes to support me. It would be important for me to see that we are together, and I am sure that this is the only way we can win!“

This is not the first time that Sergey Karjakin proposes creating Russian-based chess international institutions. At the time chess.com closed its platform for Russian players, Karjakin announced he is developing his own chess platform which aims to hold online competitions and will have artificial intelligence to detect cheating. “I hope that a full-fledged Russian chess portal will be released this year, and we will not depend on Western platforms” wrote Karjakin on his Telegram channel.

After cheering the Russian aggression against Ukraine soil, Karjakin was granted the medal “For Merit to the Fatherland”. 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. All Karjakin’s case news can be found here