The reigning European Chess Champion, GM Alexey Sarana, changed his federation to Serbia. Sarana was playing under the FIDE flag ever since the Russian Chess Federation got sanctioned by FIDE and ECU. As the Russian Chess Federation decided to leave European Chess Union and join Asian Chess Federation, the International Chess Federation FIDE and ECU published the resolution to clarify possible transfers for players who used to play under the Russian or Belarus flag.
Sarana’s request to change his federation to Serbia was approved by FIDE and the young grandmaster will perform under the Serbian flag in the future competitions. As the Serbian Chess Federation reports, Alexey Sarana lives in Belgrade and regularly participates in chess tournaments organized in Serbia. Transfers of Alexey Sarana and Aleksandr Predke to the Serbian rating list will significantly improve and popularize chess in Serbia.
