Kirill Alekseenko Leaves Russia, Becomes New Austrian Number One

Russian chess continues to lose its top players. Former Candidates participant GM Kirill Alekseenko has now completed the transfer to Austria and becomes the country's highest-rated player. 

The 26-year-old from St. Petersburg who was ranked among the world's top 30 players in 2021, is currently rated 2674 and 63rd in the world. This makes Alekseenko one of the strongest Russians to change federations since the invasion of Ukraine.

"I am very happy and I am really looking forward to develop chess in Austria, share my experiences, and win trophies in the international arena," Alekseenko says in a brief comment to Chess.com.

In February the International Chess Federation (FIDE) waived the transfer fees for Russian players wishing to represent a European chess federation without any restrictions. According to President of the Austrian Chess Federation Michael Stöttinger, the transfer procedure was "super easy" and confirmed within 24 hours 

"Having Kirill is great. He's a former Candidates player—and hopefully a future one. He is a true world-class player. Considering his age he might even not be at his peak. Nevertheless, he became Austria's number one immediately by joining our federation," he says to Chess.com.

Alekseenko made his first appearance on the Russian national team that won gold at the European Team Championship in 2019. After this, his rating reached a career-high of 2715 on the November list. A highlight of his career came when he received the wildcard for the 2020/2021 Candidates tournament in Yekaterinburg. He finished in seventh place scoring 5.5/13 after having won against GM Alexander Grischuk and GM Anish Giri.

Alekseenko has had an apartment in Austria for 1.5 years already and speaks German well. Stöttinger says they spent a lot of time together as he played for ASV Linz, the national team champion in Austria.

"It's not just about getting a strong Grandmaster. Kirill is really a great guy, a young man with excellent values, hard-working, and with high potential. I personally don't appreciate if federations are changed just because it seems convenient or lucrative, but Kirill made clear to me that his future will be in Western Europe, preferably in Austria. That is why he had my full support," Stöttinger added.

Alekseenko was among the 44 Russian chess players who signed the Anti-War letter protesting the invasion of Ukraine. Asked how important that was for the transfer, Stöttinger says:

"We very much appreciate that of course, but even without signing the letter of the 44 it would have been clear from multiple conversations with Kirill, that he is not supporting any harm to anybody, never and nowhere," Stöttinger says.

Russian chess has suffered several blows since the invasion of Ukraine, with dozens of key players fleeing the country. Last month Chess.com covered former European champion GM Alexander Motylev's move to Romania. GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, one of the strongest women players in history switched to represent Switzerland in March.

Alekseenko is the fourth Russian among the top 100 list to change federations since the invasion. The others are GM Alexey Sarana and GM Alexander Predke, both representing Serbia, while GM Grigory Oparin transferred to USA after studying in the country for years. Other top grandmasters such as Dmitry Andreikin, Vladimir Fedoseev, and Nikita Vitiugov have also left the country, but are currently listed with the neutral FIDE flag.

(Alekseenko is not the only top player to switch to Austria. The Austrian Chess Federation also announced that 20-year-old IM Valentin Badetskiy has become their new number seven after transferring from Ukraine.)