Anna Cramling: Sweden first, then Norway, Spain third

Cramling, the World Championship and dual identity: Sweden first, then Norway, Spain third

Anna Cramling, chess player and streaming star, has sparked a debate with a video confession: at the World Championship she backed Sweden before Spain, and even Norway before Spain, because her boyfriend is Norwegian. The statement, made on her YouTube channel, has exposed the discomfort that multiple loyalties generate when blood, soil and audience are all at stake.

Born in Málaga and living in Sweden since the age of 11, Cramling has represented Sweden in chess and feels more Swedish than Spanish. The problem, for a growing part of her audience, is that her videos are made in Spanish. "Swedish doesn't bring views or money," the argument goes, and hence the conflict: can you feel Swedish, monetise a Spanish-speaking audience and expect nobody to complain?

Hybrids and the profitability of the flag

Cramling's case has become a paradigm of something that goes far beyond football. Some argue that "hybrids" – people with two nationalities – tend to choose the side that gives them the greatest symbolic interest, and in economic terms, the Spanish-speaking side pays more. The criticism is not only aimed at her: the pattern of other public figures who use Spain when it suits them and dismiss it when it doesn't is also mentioned.

On the other side, another analysis reminds us that identity is not measured by flags. If she has lived in Sweden since childhood and has competed for that country, it would be strange for her to declare herself Spanish. Making content in Spanish doesn't change her emotional bond; it is simply a business decision.

Blood, soil and feeling

The debate has ended up in legal fundamentals: ius sanguinis versus ius soli. Applied to this case, some argue that being born in Málaga and having a Spanish father makes her as Spanish as anyone; others, that the sense of belonging and her life story weigh more. The discussion borders on the existential: what defines nationality, a piece of paper or a way of feeling?

And then there is the heritage. Her mother, Pia Cramling, has been a top-10 female world player for four decades; her father, Juan María Bellón, is a multiple Spanish champion. With those credentials, Anna has not remained just a YouTuber. Perhaps that is why it feels so uncomfortable to watch a great chess brand put on the Spain shirt just to please subscribers. Or not put it on, which is what has lit the fuse.

The case leaves one question hanging: the loyalty of those with two homelands will always sustancia ilegal at World Championships.