A Russian chess player was suspended by an international governing body after publicly supporting Putin's war against Ukraine

• The International Chess Federation suspended grandmaster Sergey Karjakin for six months.
• Karjakin tweeted earlier in March that he supported Putin and the war against Ukraine.

A Russian chess player was suspended by the sport's international governing body after publicly supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) said in a statement on Monday that grandmaster Sergey Karjakin is prohibited from playing in any competitions around the world for the next six months.

The statement said that the International Chess Federation's Ethics and Disciplinary Commission had determined that Karjakin violated the governing body's ethics code, which says disciplinary action will be taken if the organization or chess itself has its reputation damaged.

Karjakin wrote in a March 10 tweet that people had asked him if he supported Russia's "special operation," referring to Putin's February 24 televised war declaration.

"I am on the side of Russia and my President," Karjakin tweeted. "No matter what happens, I will support my country in any situation without thinking for a second!"

Karjakin said he had already lost invitations to Western tournaments.

FIDE came out strongly against the Russian invasion

Shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, FIDE voted unanimously to rebuke Russia, according to the Washington Post. Under the ruling, Russians were no longer allowed to compete under their own flag and this summer's upcoming Chess Olympiad would be moved from Moscow.

The president of FIDE is Arkady Dvorkovich, who formerly served as the deputy prime minister under former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

In an interview with Daniel King of Mother Jones, Dvorkovich said he was against the Russian invasion.

"My thoughts are with Ukrainian civilians," Dvorkovich told King. "Wars do not just kill priceless lives. Wars kill hopes and aspirations, freeze or destroy relationships and connections."

Those comments came after 28 Ukrainian chess grandmasters signed a letter demanding Dvorkovich's resignation, noting his ties to the Kremlin.

Karjakin loses a potential shot of facing defending world champion

Karjakin, who is ranked 18th in the world, will no longer participate in the Chess Candidates tournament to be held in Madrid in June, according to NPR. The winner of that 8-player tournament is to play Norway's Magnus Carlsen, the defending world champion, next February.

"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," the International Chess Federation said in its statement on Monday.

It continued: "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," the statement said.

A number of Russian sports teams and athletes have faced various punishments or sanctions since Putin's forces attacked Ukraine in late February.

FIFA and UEFA banned Russia and its soccer teams from all competitions, including the upcoming 2022 World Cup, while the International Skating Union banned Russian ice skaters from international competitions.