FIDE posted this on their site

In accordance with the CAS decision in case CAS 2024/A/10911, the Chess Federation of Russia was required to comply with the decision by 9 June 2026.

The FIDE Council has therefore formally requested the Chess Federation of Russia to provide evidence of its compliance with the decision.

In line with Article 20.9 of the FIDE Charter, a meeting of the FIDE Council has been scheduled for 17 June 2026 to assess the implementation of the CAS decision and to take any decisions in accordance with the FIDE Charter.

I thought it was something to do with Russian players getting sanctioned from international events.

So I dug deeper and it turns out it is not about sanctions.

shaded red -Russian occupied and contested area

Ukrainian Chess Federation took legal action because the CFR (Chess Federation of Russia) had been organizing thousands of chess tournaments and registering players in internationally recognized Ukrainian territories that are occupied by Russia (specifically Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Sevastopol).

In late March 2026, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland ruled that these actions violated Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, which goes against the fundamental principles of international chess governance.

The CAS Ultimatum

The CAS gave the Chess Federation of Russia an ultimatum:

• The Demand: The CFR had 90 days to completely cease organizing chess activities and exercising control in those occupied regions.

• The Consequence: If they failed to comply, they would face an automatic suspension from the International Chess Federation (FIDE) for up to three years.