> The FIDE President is also a former Kremlin insider - the ex-Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and the organiser of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Arkady Dvokovich.

I'm honestly surprised that Dvorkovich is keeping his job, considering that in Russia he has (or at least used to have) a reputation of one of Dmitry Medvedev's closest allies. Dmitry Medvedev being the current Deputy President of Russia's Security Council, the one allegedly directly responsible for the planning of all this madness.

The Russian challenger of the 2021 World Chess Championships Yan Nepomniachtchi publicly disapproves of the Ukraine war: https://twitter.com/lachesisq/status/1497984140075020293

Google translate: It is reported that negotiations are underway in Gomel. God grant that their result was a truce. I fear the price of the madness of the last days will be unimaginable and exorbitant. Can we afford our future now?

I feel like this is a very good decision. Coincidentally, I just installed the chess.com iPadOS app and bought a $30/year subscription a few days ago; a really nice service! I will also give chess24.com a try.

Off topic, but I really mis-predicted recent history badly. I thought there was zero chance of Russia invading Ukraine. I feel humbled by my lack of understanding of the world. I have enjoyed visiting Ukraine and Russia (just Siberia) and I wish for peace for everyone living there.

lichess is also a great website for learning chess, and it's opensource and free. (they have an optional membership for donations which gives you a green checkmark next to your name). Their mobile apps are great as well.

Heh, everyone is apologizing and feels humbled. Why? You can't predict madness. Alex Jones is the most credible analyst at the moment.

Predict? People were still denying this when it was obvious that Russian troops were in staging areas ready to invade.

This was a case of people burying their heads in sand and ignoring the grim reality staring at them.

I just got my first down voted comment by mentioning Alex Jones name (who predicted Ukraine major war in October). It is a fact, it is also a fact that every other rational analyst was wrong. But their analysis was sound - invasion of Ukraine is madness and a historic mistake for Russia. It's not about predicting things - it's about making sure that a single crazy person cannot end everyone's life going forward.

Don't see any reason for apologies for the rational analysis. Back to technology - this thing is turning into Twitter nonsense.

Well, that is not surprising; Not just chess, this will extend to any sport. This is a new iron curtain. Air travel is now very much restricted; If you can't get into or out of Russia, you can't really hold events there.

Even at the height of the Cold War rocky could meet dolph for a boxing match.

Wow, those are strong words for Nigel Short. It would be nice and say a lot if Karpov would make a statement opposing the war, but he’s very much an insider.

The russian chess community, except for 2 douches, have come out against the war.

The FIDE presidents may have had former lives where they might have conflict of interests, but their love for chess exceeds their love for putin.

People see what is going on.

If people don't like being reminded of the infamous rant by Tigran L. Petrosian, I understand, but for those who don't know the context, I'll provide the background here:

https://defector.com/let-me-explain-this-amazingly-petulant-...

It really is eye opening. For years many have made the excuse when it comes to others that its just not worth it because of the potential consequences. I honestly bought it myself. Yet here we are throwing all sorts of punches with a nuclear power. Goes to show you how that was all an excuse.

Gaddafi, Saddam, and Assad all had sanctions against them and groups armed against them. Sudan was forced to give up South Sudan. The response to any situation is never going to be identical, it needs to be dictated by what is going on in those specific circumstances, but certainly there's enough evidence of similar actions taken outside of white countries to suggest this is a gross oversimplification.

I'm near the crisis (many Ukrainian refugees are here now). I haven't seen any indications that skin color is the differentiator. Ukrainians are not all crystal white and they're being helped regardless. It's much more about speaking a similar language and sharing a similar culture.

It doesn't seem so universally. The stories here seem ugly.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-refu...

That's within Ukraine itself and I think the issue here is that Ukrainians are afraid there won't be enough space for their own people. Usually in these situations, foreign nationals are assisted in getting home by their own governments - but nobody might be going to help evacuate Ukrainians.

During COVID lockdowns, I was also denied entry onto a evacuation bus based on my nationality - and I'm as white as you can be. This is nothing unusual - and it's not racist, only nationalist/statist.

I thought so initially as well, but it is mentioned that the polls are also not so welcoming. Check the stories about other nationalities and the behavior of the board guards as well.

Well I can't deny there are some issues. But I really wouldn't call it generally racist. It's individual excesses - very wrong and must be stopped, but it's not as widespread/as racist as these articles might suggest.

I'm not trying to give it labels, just to share the stories of those people because they are part of it as well.

Maybe he didn't word it in the best way but the point here is that many feel betrayed. Betrayed because people with simillar backgrounds to them have not recieved anywhere near the same treatment. People from Gaza come to mind.

Maybe this is a turning point?

It's the first time in a long time we see the West come together, even during COVID we had drama about hoarding vaccines, and who gets what first.

To be fair, Europe has been taking refugees for quite some time, but we indeed haven't saw this sanctioning anywhere else... but let's face it: this is happening in Europe, a nuclear power is invading an independent european country.

Apparently there are big consequences for such actions. Maybe that's where the line is drawn, since it has to be drawn somewhere.

I mean what happens in Gaza is wtf. But how far is the NATO or Europe allowed to escalate this conflict to an end that it becomes solved?

Alone the issue what trump did showed that there is not that much of alignment.

Maybe a criticism against the hypocrisy of the western world and its moral superiority?

I'd like to point out that, before calling 600M people racists, there are different explanations. "Social Identity Theory" [1] being one of them. We Europeans could simply see Ukraine belonging to the same group (ie another European country) and hence emotional responses about an injustice are enhanced. This leads to more support for a member of said group compared to the same thing happening to someone belonging to a larger group (ie humanity as a whole). This doesn't have to be about racism and it's a fallacy almost all humans have.

[1] https://www.simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html....

in-group preference, aka implicit racial bias, is still racism.

I odn't think it is racial. I'm a Palestine supporter too, i housed Kazakh refugees recently, my mother housed Georgians, and had my very catholic, conservative family do the same in the 2000s. They aren't caucasians, and are ethnically close to Syrian (turkomongols i guess?). But they are Christians, and Coptics do have a really good reputation in France (or at least in my part of France). It has everything to do with how you dress, your accent, and how the media portrayed you in the last 10 years.

Maybe we have different definitions of racism. In my view one is racist when considers a particular ethnicity superior to another.

Sounds like racism to me.

In which sense?

I'm not remembering a nuclear power taking over another democratic country in Europe for a long time.

Or do you mean Asia? Or other regions of the world?

Is it so hypocritic to say no and stand up to a bully who threatens the world with nukes?

'who needs a world without Russia in it's

Oh, I now understand. Victims only matter if they belong to a "democratic" country, or if they live in a place called Europe.

Don't interpretatr things into it which I didn't say.

There is a diplomatic/global politics layer which you ignore.

it is pretty racist man

europeans arent more "important" than other people