Hungarian chess player Richard Rapport will represent Romania at international competitions, the Romanian Chess Federation announced on Sunday.

Richard RapportPhoto: Olaf KRAAK / AFP / Profimedia

“Richard Rapport will play chess under the flag of Romania! The transfer was officially issued today, September 4!”, the Romanian Chess Federation reported on Facebook.

Richard Rapport won the World Rapid Chess Championship in 2013, and in 2017 he defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway.

Grandmaster Richard Rapport is 26 years old and is ranked 13th by FIDE. The best position in his career was 5th place.

At the beginning of the summer, 24.hu reported that Rapport received an irresistible sponsorship offer from a Romanian billionaire of Serbian origin.

The only Romanian chess player who made it to the top 100 of the FIDE world is Bohdan Daniel Deac, who currently occupies the 34th position, writes News.ro.