Unprecedented: Russian chess grandmaster continues in Hungarian colours

Sanan Sjugirov is a Russian international chess grandmaster who will represent Hungary in international competitions, the Russian state news agency announced yesterday.

According to Telex, the 30-year-old chess player is ranked the world’s 31st best. Interestingly, he is the higher-ranked chess player who changed his “sport” citizenship. Before, he won youth European and world championships and was ranked 28th best.

Sergey Smagin, the deputy chairman of the Russian Chess Federation, told the Russian news agency that Sjugirov is a strong player. However, in Russia, there are several players with his knowledge and experience. In Hungary, his place in the national team is guaranteed, he added.

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The Russian chess grandmaster does not know how much salary he will get

Zoltán Polyánszky, the chairman of the Hungarian Chess Federation, told MTI, the Hungarian news agency, that due to the war, the Russian Chess Federation abandoned the European association and joined the Asian. As a result, many Russian players lost their chance to run in European competitions. Thus, Sjugirov submitted a plea to the Hungarian federation, which they approved.

He added that based on an agreement between the Russian federation and the Hungarian FIDE, the deadline for short-track country change is 31 August for Russian chess players. However, it is still an open question when, how and under which conditions Mr Sjugirov may start his career in Hungary’s national team. Mr Polyánszky added that FIDE will make official decisions concerning Russian players after the 31 August deadline. Afterwards, they will also decide about the salary of the Russian player(s).

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