Checkmate for FIDE? Timur Turlov runs for president

The race for the FIDE presidency is taking shape ahead of the September election in Samarkand, with three candidates offering sharply different visions for the future of world chess. Timur Turlov – a Kazakh businessman and chess lover - is betting on financial investment, corporate governance and technology, while Jan Henric Buettner is focused on commercial growth and Wadim Rosenstein on greater accountability within FIDE.

On 9 September 2026, Timur Turlov, president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation and a candidate for president of FIDE, set out his strategy for the development of FIDE in a debate on Chess.com. Turlov emphasized major financial investment, corporate transparency, and technological development in his remarks.

A major point of Timur Turlov's campaign is the establishment of a development fund amounting to over $6 million to assist the national chess federations. This fund would deal with financial inequality and help to build up chess infrastructure in developing countries. "It would provide for the organization of open tournaments, the training of arbiters and coaches in each federation, and it would help chess players to travel abroad and take part in tournaments in their own countries. All these measures put together could give a big boost to many developing federations all over the world," Timur Turlov said during the debate.

Another aspect of Turlov’s idea relates to the way FIDE is managed. He called for greater financial transparency within the organization and suggested that corporate governance practices employed by companies whose shares are publicly traded be adopted, such as independent supervision, high-quality financial reporting, and increased transparency. To illustrate this, he referred to his own experience in managing Freedom Holding Corp., a global fintech ecosystem listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker FRHC, which had more than 10,000 employees and 14 million clients.

Turlov also wants to strengthen anti-cheating systems, including biometric identification in official online competitions. At the same time, he proposes making professional chess more attractive to the public through new formats, including “fast classical” chess. He said traditional classical chess should remain at the center, however.

“My goal now is to make the chess we love greater and more visible, while also bringing real benefits to society. I want to end my career at FIDE by leaving the organization much stronger, more independent and wealthier,” Turlov said in conclusion.

The other two FIDE presidential candidates, Jan Henric Buettner - a German entrepreneur and co-founder of Freestyle Chess who is focused on the commercial development of chess - and Wadim Rosenstein - a German entrepreneur and founder of WR Group, an investment company known in chess circles as an investor and tournament organizer - also made statements during the debate.

Rosenstein, who opened the debate, had, however, little opportunity to present his views. He was disconnected due to internet issues shortly after beginning his speech. Chess.com’s team reported that it contacted him to rejoin, but Rosenstein did not respond or provide any explanation for his departure, according to Chess.com.

A major commitment of Buettner's is to generate $50 million in new commercial income for chess over a four-year period and to give to the national federations 20 per cent of FIDE's revenue, excluding that from prizes.

The entire 90-minute debate can be found on Chess.com.

The FIDE president is elected by secret ballot at the FIDE General Assembly once every four years for a four-year term. The General Assembly in 2026 will be held from September 26 to 27 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with the presidential election itself being set for September 26.

Presidential candidates do not go it alone but instead act as a team with a Deputy President, thus constituting a presidential ticket. Three tickets have been entered for the 2026 election:

Every ticket obtained the highest number of endorsements from the national federations, which was eight. Yet, according to some assessments, the Turlov-Anand ticket is considered as one of the most promising. This is due to the fact that it combines a well-known businessperson, who is also known for his love for chess, with one of the greatest chess players of all time. Moreover, Anand already has experience in FIDE, having been elected Deputy President together with the then FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, and thus spent four years working for the federation and therefore has a good understanding of how FIDE functions.

Furthermore, Viswanathan Anand is acting as President since July 23, 2026, as Dvorkovich announced that he was voluntarily suspending his rights and duties as FIDE president after being placed on the European Union sanctions list.

At first, it was thought that Timur Turlov would run as Deputy President on the same ticket as incumbent FIDE President Dvorkovich. However, after sanctions were imposed on Dvorkovich, the campaign configuration changed. Timur Turlov, who at present leads the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, entered the race for the post of FIDE president.

“I sincerely believe that world chess today has a unique opportunity to take the next step in its development, and if my experience can be useful to the international chess community, then this is a responsibility I should take on,” Turlov explained his decision.