Ninth round: Timur Turlov is elected President of FIDE

Timur Turlov, a native of Moscow, founder and CEO of Freedom Holding, head of the Chess Federation of Kazakhstan, has been elected president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The voting took place on September 26 in Samarkand. Russia was also not left without its representative in the leadership of the organization — Pavel Kolobkov took the post of vice-president.

Timur Turlov beat Vadim Rosenstein

In addition to Turlov, two German entrepreneurs, Vadim Rosenstein and Jan-Henrik Buttner, applied for the post of head of FIDE. In the first round, Timur Turlov received an advantage of 20 votes, but to win the election it is necessary to gain 50% plus one vote. Therefore, the second round took place — the delegates chose between Turlov and Rosenstein.

After repeated voting, the representative of Kazakhstan confidently defeated the German — 110 against 85. Another person abstained. Thus, Turlov was elected the new, ninth president of FIDE. The 15th world champion Viswanathan Anand (India) became the first Vice-President.

Turlov is a Kazakhstani entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist. In January 2023, he became the head of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation. Since 2024, he has been the president of the International School Chess Federation. In recent years, he has invested more than $75 million in this sport: from infrastructure inside Kazakhstan to top championships in New York and Washington. In the election program, he relied on three areas: the digitalization of chess and the development of artificial intelligence, the "Chess in Schools" project, and the financial stability of national federations.

— Thank you for coming with me. You can always rely on me. Any federation, any person connected with chess, can contact me and will receive equal support, regardless of political views. I promise to lead the chess community to even greater progress and prosperity," Turlov said.

However, this outcome was predictable. It was a native of Moscow, who renounced Russian citizenship in 2022, who was considered the main contender for this position, since his candidacy was supported by the former head of the organization, Arkady Dvorkovich, and acting president Vichy Anand, as well as the entire staff of the federation.

And shortly before the assembly, Malcolm Payne, who was in conjunction with Buttner, accused Turlov of visa provocation. Allegedly, it was Timur who agreed with the Uzbek authorities not to allow "undesirables" to enter the country.

Indeed, Dlamini Vukani from Eswatini, who was nominated for the post of treasurer, had difficulty entering. Nevertheless, the Government of Uzbekistan intervened in the situation and resolved all the problems. So the elections were held on the appointed date.

"Congratulations to Timur Ruslanovich on his election victory," Alexander Tkachev, executive director of the Russian Chess Federation, told Izvestia. — Everyone knows that he went to the polls with Arkady Dvorkovich. But the circumstances turned out in such a way that Arkady Vladimirovich was forced to give up the fight for the presidency. We hope that our further cooperation will be fruitful and constructive.

CAS reckoning: the fight for the post of head of FIDE has reached the sports court

Timur Turlov's rival is challenging his participation in the presidential race through the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

When asked how the problem of the Russian Chess Federation's suspension from competitions would be solved, Turlov replied: "In full compliance with international law."

— I will do my best to unite the community. So that the [chess] community can find the strength to negotiate, move towards each other, and respect each other," Turlov said. — I am sure that in accordance with these principles, we will find agreement where it was difficult to find it. This is my main role — the biggest and most responsible. I want FIDE to serve all its federations. She treated everyone with respect and maintained a respectful dialogue within.

Kolobkov was elected Vice-President of FIDE

From 2018 to 2026, FIDE was headed by Russian Arkady Dvorkovich. This summer, the functionary was included in the 21st package of EU sanctions, after which he suspended his powers and publicly refused to run for re-election in September. Previously, world chess was led by Kirsan Ilyumzhinov for 23 years (1995 to 2018). Pavel Kolobkov, the former Minister of Sports, will represent our country in the new leadership of FIDE. He became one of the four vice presidents.

— We are very pleased that our compatriot, a professional of the highest class, a brilliant athlete has become the vice-president of the International Chess Federation. We have always had a working relationship with FIDE. I am sure that they will only develop and continue in a constructive manner," Tkachev continued.

Kolobkov regards this not so much as a support for his candidacy, but rather as an assessment of Russia, a great chess power.

— The delegates miss the Russian chess players and cannot imagine the development of chess without Russia. In fact, this is an assessment of Russia's contribution to world chess. This is very important to me. This is my new stage of my career, and I have a lot of new ideas, so we will work together," the FIDE vice president told TASS.

Xu Yuhua (China) and Michael Khodarkovsky (USA) also took the posts of vice presidents.