Ukrainian chess players Anna and Maria Muzychuk commented on the information of the Lviv Regional Chess Federation (LOCHF) that they refused to sign a letter to FIDE (International Chess Federation) about the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes from competitions.

Because of this, LOSHF announced that it was ending cooperation with the Muzychuk sisters and starting the procedure for their expulsion from the federation..

On her Facebook page, Anna Muzychuk published a joint statement with her sister Maria, in which the Ukrainian chess players explained their position in detail.

" We were sent texts of letters, the content of which was almost identical. We twice wanted to make suggestions and recommendations that could make these letters and demands more effective.. However, we were told twice that " And this, despite the fact that the FSU letter did not bring the desired results..

We believe that such appeals are necessary and we should continue to demand sanctions from FIDE. However, in order for these measures to achieve their goal, it is important to be as effective as possible..

Now specifically on the points in which we wanted to make adjustments:.

1) Letter from LOSHF to FSU and demand for the resignation of FIDE President Russian A. Dvorkovich.

In the letter to the signature it was indicated " Kapustina re-send a letter of demand. " Let's look at things sensibly: how realistic is it that Dvorkovich and his team will vote to remove Dvorkovich from office? Moreover, if this issue was not even raised at the FIDE Presidential Council, which took place after the FSU letter to FIDE.

We have proposed that this requirement from the FOS be addressed specifically to the IOC (International Olympic Committee). After all, today a Russian does not lead any international sports federation.. In the final letter of the LOSHF it was stated " Kapustin to contact the relevant institutions, " Kapustina send this letter.

2) Demand for the removal of Russian and Belarusian chess players.

On February 27, on my Facebook page and Instagram, I turned to the chess players representing these countries with a request to express their position on the decisions of the President of the Russian Federation and the war against Ukraine. On March 3, leading Russian chess players and chess players wrote an open letter to Putin, in which they condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine and demanded an immediate end to the war. Among the signatories of this letter are members of the Russian national team, Olympic champions, champions and champions of the world and Europe.

Is it right to demand the suspension of all chess players, including those who support Ukraine? We believe that it is more correct either to make an exception for these chess players / chess players, or to exclude everyone, but only for the period of the war.

3) Additionally, which was not in the original letter, we initiated the removal of Russian and Belarusian chess players and chess players from team competitions.

We believe that the states of Russia and Belarus do not have the moral right to be represented at international competitions. There has already been a FIDE decision not to allow these countries to participate in the World Chess Olympiad, which is scheduled to start in July this year, but recently, for some reason, this issue began to be raised again.

We also urge to completely remove chess players and chess players who openly supported Russia's aggression against Ukraine from all official competitions and bring them to criminal responsibility..

In the end, we want to emphasize once again that since the first days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we have clearly stated our position on this war. We consider Russia an aggressor, in word and deed, we support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and believe in our victory. Glory to Ukraine! "