MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is among the supporters of Russian chess grandmaster Sergei Karjakin, currently trying to beat Norway’s Magnus Carlsen for the title of the chess world champion, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
"Many are following this, of course, everyone … supports Karjakin, including the president. Of course, we inform him of this all the time. We support Karjakin, our challenger," Peskov told reporters.
The 12-game World Championship is currently underway in New York. Karjakin and Carlsen drew in the ninth game, which took place on Wednesday.