The key facts

  • Turlov was elected FIDE president on 26 September 2026: 110 votes against Rosenstein's 85; Viswanathan Anand became deputy president
  • The continental stages of the school championship were won by schools from Uzbekistan, Uganda, Peru and Belarus; the Grand Final is scheduled for December
  • Turlov's programme envisages raising the FIDE Development Fund budget to €6.2 million per year in 2027–2030

FIDE presidential election

Timur Turlov was elected president of FIDE on 26 September 2026 at the General Assembly held alongside the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. According to the official FIDE announcement, in the second round he received 110 votes against 85 for Vadim Rosenstein. At 38, Turlov succeeded Arkady Dvorkovich and became the organisation's eighth president; Viswanathan Anand was elected deputy president. Before his election, Turlov had headed the Kazakhstan Chess Federation since January 2023 and was the founding president of the International School Chess Federation (ISCF), established in September 2024. Outside chess, he is chairman of the board and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., a financial services group whose shares are traded on Nasdaq under the ticker FRHC; in the company's annual report for the year ended 31 March 2026 he is listed as CEO.

The 2026 school championship

Even before his election, Turlov took part in preparing the 2026 World School Team Championship — a joint initiative of ISCF and FIDE. The format, announced by FIDE on 4 February, provided for continental stages in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe with a Grand Final in December; the cycle grew out of tournaments in Kazakhstan (2023) and the USA (2025). Teams consist, as a rule, of four players, a reserve and an adult captain, with mandatory participation of both boys and girls (with an exception for single-sex schools). Eligible were children born between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2018. The continental tournaments were played as eight-round Swiss events with a time control of 45 minutes plus 10 seconds per move.

Results of the continental stages

The Asian stage was held in Almaty from 7 to 10 April 2026: Wisdom School from Tashkent won with 16 match points, ahead of the Kurchatov School from Russia and Velammal MHS School from India; 114 young players from 19 countries took part. The African stage in July in Stellenbosch (South Africa) was won by Uganda's Sr. Miriam Duggan Primary School, which went through all eight rounds undefeated; second place went to Moi Nyeri Complex Primary School from Kenya, third to Welgemoed Primary School from South Africa. The Americas stage in San José (Costa Rica) concluded in August with victory for Peru's Saco Oliveros de Lince on 15 points out of 16; followed by Harvest Park Middle School from the USA and Crescent Heights Academy from Canada. In Tsaghkadzor (Armenia) in early October, Gymnasium No. 50 from Minsk won the European stage without a single loss; silver went to Riga State Gymnasium No. 1, bronze to a school from Kutaisi (Georgia). Thus, the four continental champions represent Uzbekistan, Uganda, Peru and Belarus. The list of participants for the December Grand Final is to be clarified under the updated regulations.

The 'Chess in Schools' programme

Chess in schools is a central part of Turlov's 2026 election platform, which envisages expanding access to the game in national education systems and supporting federations with fewer resources. FIDE–ISCF cooperation in this area was formalised in October 2025, before the election. One concrete measure is the ISCF 'Chess in Education' grant programme: according to a FIDE notice dated 11 May 2026, it will support three projects that have passed a pilot stage and can demonstrate educational outcomes; applications could be submitted by schools, non-profit organisations, foundations and social enterprises with at least one academic year of experience. According to the publication, since 2023 Freedom Holding has invested about $30 million in the Kazakhstan Chess Federation; during Turlov's three years as president, chess programmes have been launched in all 20 regions of the country, the number of tournaments in international databases has grown from 1,538 in 2023 to 3,853 in 2025, the 'Chess in Education' programme covers more than 1,500 schools and about 60,000 children, around 2,800 teachers have been trained, and the next goal is to bring the number of schools with chess as a school subject to 2,500.

Other priorities of the platform

The goals of Turlov's platform are grouped around digital transformation, chess in education, financial sustainability and institutional development. In 2027–2030 the FIDE Development Fund is expected to receive €6.2 million ($7.07 million) annually — roughly 3.9 times the current €1.6 million ($1.82 million); the total over four years could reach €24.8 million ($28.3 million). Annual allocations are planned: €2 million for competitions, €1.1 million for young players, €900,000 for chess education, €800,000 for training of coaches and arbiters and digital tools, and €500,000 for women's chess. Also provided is three-year individual support for ten young players — five boys and five girls. A separate media fund with an annual budget of $1.5 million will finance national media campaigns, communications and training; all national federations will be able to apply. Digital modernisation envisages a unified platform and improved digital services to reduce administrative barriers. The platform also provides for a clearer international calendar, the development of women's chess and expanded opportunities for developing federations. The publication notes that the test will be the predictability of delivering support to national organisations, and that combining the posts of head of a public company and FIDE president makes transparency in sponsorship and spending decisions significant.