Russians want punishment for Jan-Krzysztof Duda. There is a reaction from the world federation

Jan-Krzysztof Duda once again competed in the World Chess Championship. This time he finished the competition in tenth place. Although Norwegian Magnus Carlsen returned with the trophy from Uzbekistan, there is a lot of talk in the chess world about the Pole’s behavior in the first round of the competition.

Russians were furious at Jan-Krzysztof Duda’s gesture

Duda did not shake hands with Denis Chismatullin, which was a surprise considering the standard practice in the chess world. Although the Pole’s manager, Adam Dzwonkowski, admitted to WP SportoweFakty that the gesture was not about “some big demonstration”, he added that the player “did what he thought was right”. Chismatullin is one of the faces of Vladimir Putin’s government. The Russian was involved, among other things, by providing food for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

In Russia, the Pole’s behavior was loudly commented on, calling on the authorities of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to draw consequences. According to the Interia website, the organization will not do this because neither Chismatullin nor anyone in his entourage reported the case to the Ethics Committee in time.

“Duda could be punished only if the opposing party, who was refused a handshake, requests it to the Ethics Committee. In the case of Duda and Chismatullin, there was no such report,” it can be read.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda risked a lot by refusing to shake hands

It is worth adding that if the Russian had decided to report the matter to the judges immediately after the incident, the Pole could have been disqualified for breaking the rules of fair play.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda is currently the best Polish chess player. He is the winner of the 2021 FIDE World Cup. He was the only Pole in history to exceed the mark of 2,800 points in the ELO ranking (currently his score is 2,732 points).