MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. The Russian Chess Federation (RCF) hoped until the very last minute that Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi would be able to get a visa and participate in the 2025 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships in London, RCF Executive Director Alexander Tachyov told TASS on Tuesday.
Nepomniachtchi intended to play at the tournament as part of the WR Chess team, but earlier stated on his Telegram channel that he did not get an entry visa to travel to London.
"We all, and Ian to a greater extent, hoped until the last minute that the visa issue would be resolved. Unfortunately, it didn't," Tkachyov said. "It's a great pity that Russia's strongest chess player won't be taking part in this prestigious competition."
"It's a pity that bureaucratic obstacles prevent one of the strongest chess players in the world, who has many fans both in Russia and around the world, from participating in an interesting tournament," he added.
The 2025 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships is hosted by the British capital of London on June 10-16. The event is open to teams from all over the world. Teams can be made of club members, members of different federations or any other chess players.
Nepomniachtchi, 34, played twice for the world chess crown. In 2021, he lost to Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and in 2023 to China’s Ding Liren. He won the European title in 2010 and won the World Team Championships as a member of the Russian team in 2013 and 2019. Apart from that, he is a two-time Russian champion (2010, 2020).