Magnus Carlsen opposed the participation of Russian chess players in the tournaments

"Every day it gets a little bit weirder to play against the Russians. In the beginning, I was probably a big supporter of the fact that you need to think carefully before suspending people, especially considering that you don't know what long-term consequences it will have. Now that it's been going on longer and longer, I'm maybe more and more convinced that maybe Russians shouldn't play. But it's not up to me to decide", - Carlsen said (quoted by RBC).

He told about his attitude to the game against the Russians after defeating Russian chess player Alexey Sarana during the Champions Chess Tour online tournament.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) allows chess players from Russia and Belarus to participate in competitions, but under a neutral flag.

Carlsen is the current world chess champion, but refused to play against Russian Yan Nepomnyashchy to defend the title. Earlier, the Russian grandmaster won the candidates tournament and will compete for the world chess crown in a game against the Chinese Ding Liren, who took second place in this competition. The match between them will take place in Astana from April 7 to May 1, as reported by FIDE. The prize fund will be 2 million euros, 60% of which will be awarded to the winner, and 40% to the loser.