Timur Turlov elected FIDE president after runoff in Samarkand

September 26, 2026 at 02:45 PM2 min

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Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. and head of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, was elected president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) on September 26 in Samarkand. He won a runoff with 110 votes against 85 for German entrepreneur Vadim Rosenstein. The election followed the withdrawal of incumbent Arkady Dvorkovich after EU sanctions.

Key Facts

Timur Turlov received 110 votes in the second round, defeating Vadim Rosenstein who got 85 votes, with one abstention.
The election took place on September 26 at the FIDE General Assembly in Samarkand.
Turlov renounced Russian citizenship in 2022 and holds Kazakhstani citizenship.
Incumbent Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE president since 2018, withdrew from the election after being included in the EU's 21st sanctions package on July 21.
The FIDE presidency has a four-year term.

Election Results

In the first round, Turlov received 96 votes, Rosenstein 76, and Jan-Henrik Büttner 20. Since no candidate achieved 50%+1, a runoff was held between the top two candidates. Turlov won the runoff with 110 votes to Rosenstein's 85, with one abstention. Each national federation had one vote regardless of population size or chess development level.

Candidates and Campaign

Turlov ran alongside five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, who sought the deputy president position. German entrepreneur Jan-Henrik Büttner campaigned with British chess figure Malcolm Pein. Vadim Rosenstein ran with Singaporean businessman Gordon Tang. Turlov's platform emphasized long-term financing for chess projects, digitalization, educational initiatives, stronger anti-cheating measures, and greater autonomy for national federations.

Leadership Transition

Arkady Dvorkovich had led FIDE since 2018 and won re-election in 2022 against Ukrainian Andrii Baryshpolets. After being included in the EU's 21st sanctions package on July 21, Dvorkovich temporarily suspended his duties and announced he would not run, citing significant risks to the organization. Viswanathan Anand served as acting president from July 2026 until the election. This is the first time in nearly 30 years that FIDE is led by a non-Russian.