World draughts reopens to Belarus; Russia next after war

The World Draughts Federation has reopened competitions to Belarusian players from July 1, though they will compete without flag or anthem. Russian President Vladimir Putin predicted that Russia's turn to return will come as soon as the war in Ukraine ends. He argued that excluding both countries removes half of the sport's elite, noting one recent world final featured 9 of 12 finalists from the Netherlands.