Russian chess players Ian Nepomniachtchi and Daniil Dubov received zero points by playing the fixed draw at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Samarkand. This was reported on the social network of the X International Chess Federation (FIDE).
The reason for the incident was that the chess players only made a few moves with the knight and agreed on a draw on the 12th move of the match.
The Russian Chess Federation (RFC) reported that Dubov and Nepomniachtchi did not agree with this decision of the tournament’s chief referee Ivan Surova and protested. However, the World Blitz Championship Appeal Committee upheld this decision.
Due to this decision, chess players lost the 0.5 points they could have received for a draw in the game. That’s why they dropped in the rankings: Dubov is eighth and Nepomniachtchi is 11th.
The World Championship will conclude on December 30, when rounds 13 to 21 will be played. At the end of 12 rounds, the interim leader of the competition was Russian chess player Vladislav Artemyev.
Previously Nepomniachtchi reported FIDE has privileges for Carlsen.