federation

However, the four international federations have now told the IPC "that, in practice, no athletes from the two nations are likely to qualify for March's Games".

The project, fully compliant with federation regulations and competition integrity, was envisioned as a new frontier for a game seeking global relevance.

"It complied fully with federation regulations. The position on the project was just for reasons unrelated to regulatory or sporting integrity."

The US and International chess federations have paid tribute to Naroditsky, along with other professional players.

Malaysia's football federation suspended its secretary-general Friday and said it would establish an independent committee to probe an ongoing eligibility scandal involving seven foreign-born players.