Timur Turlov, a Kazakhstani businessman, has been elected the new president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). This was announced on FIDE’s official website, which also noted that Turlov will be inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.
In the FIDE election, Turlov competed against Germans Vadim Rosenshtein and Jan Wenrich Büttner. The vote was held in two rounds, and the 38-year-old businessman emerged victorious.
Timur Turlov was placed under sanctions in Ukraine in October 2022. According to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, he holds Russian citizenship, and the sanctions were imposed because he had established a large financial business in Ukraine and Russia, which posed a threat to national security.
Despite this, Turlov offered Mykhailo Podolyak, a special advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the position of FIDE vice president, to which Podolyak agreed.
The previous FIDE president was Arkady Dvorkovich of Russia, who stepped down after the European Union imposed sanctions. Dvorkovich had led the federation since 2018, having previously served as deputy prime minister of Russia.
