The Fair Play Commission of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) temporarily suspended Ukrainian grandmaster Kirill Shevchenko from participating in tournaments.
According to the press service of the Federation, Shevchenko is suspected of cheating after his phone was found in the bathroom during the Spanish Interclub Championship.
The young grandmaster, who represented Romania in the tournament, was suspended by the FIDE Fair Play Commission for 75 days. This is how long the investigation will last.
In the next two weeks, Shevchenko will be able to appeal the decision if he presents evidence to the contrary. The Federation emphasized that they do not consider the grandmaster guilty beforehand.
To carry out a thorough investigation, the Commission formed an investigation team chaired by Vicente Girets.
Let us remember that the scandal broke out during Shevchenko’s match with the five-time Spanish champion. Paco Vallejo in which the ex-Ukrainian won.
During the game, he often went to the bathroom, which attracted the attention of the judges. They suspected the player was using a phone and searched the bathroom. A locked phone was found there.
The chess player was excluded from the competition and his results in both games played were annulled. The athlete did not admit guilt, but returned the prize money.
