Nepomniachtchi triumphed at the FIDE Candidates Tournament last month to secure his place in the final.

He topped the standings with 8.5 points in the eight-player competition, with France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave placing second on eight.

As the winner of the tournament, Nepomniachtchi earned the right to face defending world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway at the World Championship in Dubai in November.

The FIDE confirmed that due to the event being a World Championship, Nepomniachtchi will compete neutrally to comply with the doping sanctions imposed on Russia.

Russian athletes are required to compete neutrally at World Championship events run by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) signatories.

This follows the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision in the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) case, which saw a four-year package of sanctions reduced to two.

As a WADA signatory, the FIDE is required to comply with the CAS ruling.

"FIDE can confirm that, due to the WADA sanctions against Russia, Ian Nepomniachtchi will not be allowed to play under the Russian flag at the World Championship match in Dubai," FIDE chief marketing and communications officer David Llada told Chess.com.

"This ban forbids Russian athletes and event organisers to display publicly the flag of the Russian Federation, the name 'Russia', (in any language or format), or any national emblem or national symbol of the Russian Federation, including on their clothes, equipment, or other personal items, at any event under the denomination "World Championship".

"CAS directly clarified to FIDE that these restrictions do not apply to the qualification stage of any World Championship, like the World Cup 2021 and the Women's World Cup 2021 that will take place in Russia later this year."

There was controversy regarding the use of Russia’s flag in another mind sport last week.

Polish official Jacek Pawlicki removed a Russian flag during the fourth round of the Women's World Draughts Championships final between Tamara Tansykkuzhina and Poland's Natalia Sadowska.

The removal of the flag was blamed for disrupting Tansykkuzhina’s concentration, leading to her making an error which caused her to lose the game.

The World Draughts Federation later apologised for the incident, but said it had been instructed to comply with the CAS decision by WADA.

A WADA spokesperson said the organisation had not requested the flags be removed mid-match.

The nine-round final will conclude today with Sadowska leading 50-46.