IM Georgios Makropoulos, one of the most powerful and controversial figures in international chess politics for decades, has died.
Former FIDE communications chief David Llada broke the news on Tuesday morning, World Chess received confirmation directly from FIDE shortly after.
The Greek International Master was due to be in Samarkand this month as one of 18 candidates fighting for four elected FIDE vice-president positions at the federation's General Assembly.
His death comes just 11 days before the September 26 vote.
Makropoulos, 72, was a seven-time Greek champion but became far better known as a formidable political operator at the heart of FIDE.
He served as FIDE vice president from 1986 to 1990, general secretary from 1990 to 1996 and deputy president from 1996 until 2018.
For part of that period, however, his role went considerably further.
After long-serving FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was placed under US sanctions in 2015, responsibility for FIDE's legal, financial and business affairs was transferred to Makropoulos.
The arrangement left Ilyumzhinov as nominal president while Makropoulos exercised many of the organisation's presidential powers.
The relationship between the two men eventually descended into open conflict as FIDE struggled with the consequences of Ilyumzhinov's sanctions and the loss of its banking facilities.
Makropoulos eventually challenged for the presidency himself in 2018, heading a ticket which included English International Master Malcolm Pein as his proposed deputy.
It was a bruising election which exposed deep divisions within the organisation.
Makropoulos was regarded by critics as the ultimate FIDE insider after decades at the top of the organisation, while his campaign presented him as the experienced candidate capable of steering FIDE out of the crisis of the Ilyumzhinov years.
He ultimately lost to former Russian deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich, who won the election in Batumi.
Makropoulos nevertheless remained involved in international chess politics and returned to the FIDE leadership as a vice president in 2022.
And he was preparing for another election this month.
FIDE confirmed on September 1 that Makropoulos was one of 18 approved candidates for four elected vice-president positions at the General Assembly being held alongside the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.
It means one of the most recognisable figures from the old guard of FIDE politics has died just as the organisation prepares to choose its next leadership.
Away from politics, Makropoulos was also a formidable player.
He won the Greek Championship seven times between 1971 and 1985, became an International Master in 1979 and reached a peak rating of 2485.
He also served for decades at the top of Greek chess and helped organise the 1984 and 1988 Chess Olympiads in Thessaloniki.
From the Campomanes era, through more than two decades of Ilyumzhinov and into the Dvorkovich administration, Makropoulos was involved at the highest levels of world chess politics for around 40 years.
His death leaves FIDE with an immediate electoral question over the vice-presidential ballot in Samarkand, on which his name had been due to appear.