Kazakhstani entrepreneur Timur Turlov has been elected president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The election took place on September 26 in Samarkand during the organization’s General Assembly.
In the second round of voting, Turlov secured 110 votes against 85 cast for Vadim Rosenstein. At 38 years old, he became the youngest president in FIDE’s history.
How the Election Unfolded
Three candidates ran for the presidency: incumbent FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, who had led the organization since 2018, Vadim Rosenstein, and Timur Turlov.
In the first round of voting, none of the candidates achieved the required absolute majority of 98 votes (50% plus one vote out of 195 member federations):
- Timur Turlov: 78 votes
- Vadim Rosenstein: 62 votes
- Arkady Dvorkovich: 54 votes
- Abstentions / Spoiled ballots: 1
Dvorkovich was eliminated in the first round, marking the end of his eight-year tenure at the helm of international chess. In the runoff, the majority of federations supported Turlov’s candidacy.
Election Program and Key Promises
Turlov campaigned under the banner of comprehensive digitization of chess, expanding the sport’s global commercial appeal, and supporting national federations in developing countries. His core proposals include:
- Digitizing global tournaments and ratings: Developing an open digital ecosystem for arbiters, players, and organizers, integrating anti-cheating AI protocols directly into official platforms.
- Growing FIDE’s commercial budget: Attracting international corporate sponsorships and institutional tech partners to double the organization’s annual commercial revenues by 2028.
- Direct grants to national federations: Allocating at least $5 million annually to assist grassroots chess academies, training camps, and youth tournaments across Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
- Corporate and scholastic chess expansion: Scaling up the “Chess in Schools” initiative modeled after successful implementations across Kazakhstan, reaching millions of elementary school pupils worldwide.
Background and Regional Impact
Timur Turlov is the founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., a NASDAQ-listed diversified financial and digital ecosystem with headquarters in Almaty. Since January 2023, Turlov has served as President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation (KCF).
Under his leadership at the KCF, Kazakhstan hosted major international chess events, including the 2023 World Chess Championship match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi in Astana, the 2024 World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships, and multiple legs of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix. State funding and private sponsorships for national teams increased substantially, propelling Kazakhstani women’s and youth teams to record podium placements at Olympiads and World Championships.
Turlov’s election as FIDE president marks a notable geopolitical and administrative shift in international sports governance, establishing Central Asia and Kazakhstan as major institutional hubs for global chess diplomacy and tech-driven sporting innovation.
