Mr Dodgy Nearly Took Over FIDE. Eighty-Five Federations Thought That Was a Good Idea.Timur Turlov won the FIDE presidency 110 to 85 in Samarkand. The 85 is the number worth worrying about, or celebrating, and I have not decided which.September 29, 2026·6 min read
Chess Olympiad 2026: Everything You Need To KnowThe 2026 Chess Olympiad is over—and Uzbekistan and China are the champions. A record 400 teams descended on Samarkand for 11 rounds of extraordinary chess, controversy, politics and drama. Here is everything that happened.September 27, 2026·20 min read
Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, Becomes WGM And Scores Second IM Norm At Chess OlympiadBodhana Sivanandan arrived at the Chess Olympiad aged 11 and was asked to lead England from board one. She leaves Samarkand having completed the requirements for the Woman Grandmaster title—and with a second International Master norm putting her well on the way towards an even bigger title.September 27, 2026·4 min read
Turlov Backs Russia Suspension—As Former Russian Sports Minister Joins FIDE LeadershipNew FIDE President Timur Turlov has backed keeping the Chess Federation of Russia suspended as a former Russian sports minister joins FIDE's leadership—with a former member of FIDE's legal team predicting the row will end at CAS.September 27, 2026·5 min read
FIDE Election 2026: Everything You Need To KnowTimur Turlov has won the 2026 FIDE presidential election, defeating Wadim Rosenstein 110-85. Full results, candidates and the story of the Samarkand vote.September 26, 2026·20 min read
Billionaires, Lawsuits, And a Bentley: Inside The Wild FIDE Election That Turlov WonBillionaires, bitter allegations, legal threats, disappearing candidates and even a Bentley bet: the FIDE election had just about everything.September 26, 2026·5 min read
Timur Turlov Wins FIDE Election As Billionaire Takes Control Of World ChessTimur Turlov was elected FIDE President today in Samarkand, winning the runoff 110–85 over Wadim Rosenstein after taking 96 votes in the first round (one short of an outright majority; Jan Henric Buettner took 20). September 26, 2026·3 min read
Delegates Choose Their Candidate a Night EarlyFIDE's first awards night became a feeding ground for two election teams.September 25, 2026·3 min read
Pein Moves to Remove the ECU PresidentMalcolm Pein wants Zurab out, and he needs 18 federations to do itSeptember 25, 2026·3 min read
Africa Endorsed Timur Turlov. First It Had to Decide Who Was Allowed to Sign the Letter.The African Chess Confederation, 48 votes strong, backed the Turlov–Anand ticket the day before the FIDE election. The endorsement took two months, one ethics hearing, and a ruling on who gets to hold the bank cards.September 25, 2026·5 min read
Israel Forfeits Two Olympiad Matches After Yom Kippur Reschedule Request RejectedChess Olympiad 2026·Sep 22·4 min read
Term of the dayChess SkewerThe reverse of a pin: the valuable piece is hit first and the one behind it falls.
