site.btaFIDE, European Chess Union: Association Bulgarian Chess Federation 2022's License Should Be Revoked

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) and the European Chess Union (ECU) have sent letters to the Ministry of Youth and Sports urging the caretaker Minister, Georgi Glushkov, to revoke the license of the Association Bulgarian Chess Federation 2022 (BCF 2022).

The motive behind the letters is the ongoing stalemate in which Bulgarian chess finds itself. At the end of 2023, FIDE and the ECU recognized only the Bulgarian Sports Chess Federation and accepted its membership, while Bulgaria's Ministry of Youth and Sports had licensed the BCF 2022. So far, the Ministry has been unable to find a legal basis to overturn its 2022 decision. For its part, the BCF 2022 tried to prove in court that it was wrongfully blocked from going through the FIDE and ECU application procedure, but earlier July, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne rejected BCF 2022's appeal.

The ECU and FIDE demand that the Ministry revokes BCF 2022's license and issues a license for Bulgarian Sports Chess Federation instead. Otherwise, FIDE warns that Bulgarian chess players and clubs may be banned from participating in tournaments under the auspices of FIDE, until the case is resolved.