Those hoping for a change in chess were left disappointed over the weekend. The old guard is not going anywhere.
The hotly-contested European Chess Union election held in Bucharest, Romania, had been seen as a key barometer before this year's FIDE election.
What is normally a dry meeting was enhanced this time with a touch of stardom: Romanian royalty in the shape of Olympic legend Nadia Comăneci.
World Chess CEO Ilya Merenzon was there to witness events:
But the main business of the election ended with a decisive victory for the incumbent Zurab Azmaiparashvili, handing another four years to the controversial figure in charge of European chess since 2014.
Azmaiparashvili's ticket received 35 of the 53 votes cast, crushing opposition from the Polish challenger Lukasz Turlej and Bachar Kouatly of France. They received just 11 and 7, respectively.
The Georgian GM is now in his fifth term.
Azmaiparashvili has a long list of scandals and unsavoury incidents behind him as both a player and an official, from being arrested at the 2004 Chess Olympiad in Calvia to using a racial slur while berating GM Anton Kovalyov at the 2017 World Cup.
But Azmaiparashvili's opponents in the election weren't above criticism, either.
Turlej, who couldn't secure the support of his own federation, had been subject to significant attention over an alleged conflict of interest with his role as a FIDE general secretary. He was also forced to defend his opinions on the war in Ukraine.
Kouatly, meanwhile, was the favoured candidate of Wadim Rosenstein, the German billionaire launching a bid to become FIDE president. He had backing behind him, and the support of Germany, the biggest federation in Europe, but could not deliver.
FIDE's current president Arkady Dvorkovich, was present and later publicly congratulated Azmaiparashvili. Dvorkovich's comments prompted both support and criticism across social media.
It seems Azmaiparashvili's re-election suits Dvorkovich.
In a post on X, Dvorkovich wrote:
Azmaiparashvili secured his term with a promise to pump more cash into European chess and launch a new €500,000 European Chess Super League in 2027 and a Women's Super League.
The big election for the chess world happens in September when Dvorkovich faces re-election, facing challenges from Rosenstein, the man behind the WR Chess empire and Germany's FIDE delegate, and the reformer ticket led by another German billionaire Jan Henric Buettner.
The FIDE General Assembly, taking in around 200 votes from around the world, will decide that one. As it stands, the indications are that the old guard will prevail again.