It's not easy covering the 2026 FIDE election. Firstly, the campaign is moving fast—very fast.
But secondly, and more worryingly, anyone writing about it has to walk on eggshells. Why? Because this contest among three litigious billionaires is becoming increasingly bitter. Complaints to FIDE, demands for investigations and threats of legal action have been flying in all directions.
With less than seven weeks to go before around 200 delegates choose the federation's next president in Samarkand, Jan Henric Buettner, Wadim Rosenstein and Timur Turlov are spending an extraordinary amount of time complaining about each other.
The election is becoming as much a battle in FIDE's legal and disciplinary machinery as it is a contest over who should run world chess.
And there are still 44 days to go.
FIDE formally approved the three tickets last month: Buettner with IM Malcolm Pein, Rosenstein with Gordon Tang, and Turlov with five-time World Champion GM Viswanathan Anand. The election will be held on September 26.
Buettner: cease and desist
The latest salvo came from Buettner, who has formally complained to the FIDE Council about what he says is the use of federation resources to support Turlov's campaign.
In a letter dated August 6, Buettner alleged that FIDE employees had accompanied Turlov at campaign-related events and that FIDE communication systems had been used to arrange meetings with delegates.
The letter was headed "Cease and Desist", with Buettner demanding that FIDE immediately stop what he considers campaigning using federation resources and warning of legal consequences.
The German businessman says he has evidence to support his claims and has given FIDE seven days to provide written assurances that its staff and resources will not be used in the election.
The allegations have not been established as fact, and FIDE has not publicly ruled on Buettner's complaint.
But Buettner's own description of his campaign offers an intriguing contrast with the increasingly political tone of the election.
In an interview published this week, he said the idea of running for FIDE president came unexpectedly after conversations with young stars GM Javokhir Sindarov and GM Bibisara Assaubayeva.
"I was really laughing about it," Buettner said, recalling his initial reaction.
But the idea stuck.
"I thought it's a great challenge and a great goal to have. It's also a sprint. It's a short-term project. It's a 90-day project."
Buettner, who co-founded Freestyle Chess, said his motivation was largely commercial: if he could raise $27.5 million for Freestyle Chess, he believed he could raise substantially more for chess generally if FIDE were run properly.
Instead, his 90-day project is already becoming a legal battle.
Rosenstein wants Turlov investigated
Rosenstein has also taken his rival to FIDE.
After an anonymous dossier containing allegations about his business activities and Russian connections was circulated to delegates, Rosenstein accused the Dvorkovich-Turlov camp of being behind attacks against him. Turlov and Dvorkovich have not been shown to be responsible for the dossier.
Rosenstein rejected the allegations and accused his opponents of spreading defamatory information.
But he then went on the offensive.
In an August 6 letter to the FIDE Electoral Commission—and, where legally competent, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)—Rosenstein called for an investigation into Turlov's eligibility and disclosures.
Among his demands are that Turlov establish that he has relinquished (alleged) Russian citizenship, clarify the status of sanctions against him, address questions about potential banking problems for FIDE and provide evidence for his claimed $75 million investment in chess.
Rosenstein says that if his concerns are substantiated, Turlov should be disqualified from the election.
So one presidential candidate is asking FIDE to investigate another.
Turlov fires back
Turlov has responded directly, rejecting Rosenstein's claims and presenting a Kazakh passport as evidence of his current citizenship.
"I am a citizen of Kazakhstan," Turlov wrote, adding that Kazakhstan's policy of maintaining constructive relations while staying out of confrontations was important to its chess community.
"FIDE brings..." Turlov's statement then turned to the broader role of chess as an international community.
His communications team has also threatened legal action over what it considers defamatory claims.
Turlov's response, however, has not put the dispute to rest. Rosenstein's questions about Turlov's previous Russian citizenship, sanctions and other matters remain contested, with the two camps offering sharply different accounts.
And then there is FIDE itself
The extraordinary feature of this election is that the complaints are no longer simply candidate against candidate.
They increasingly involve the organisation that will ultimately conduct the election.
Buettner and his supporters say FIDE personnel and resources are being used to assist Turlov.
Rosenstein wants FIDE's Electoral Commission to examine Turlov's eligibility.
Turlov's representatives are threatening legal action over claims made about him.
Meanwhile, the fallout from the African Chess Confederation election has created another potential headache for FIDE's electoral and ethics bodies, after Tshepiso Lopang, now part of Rosenstein's ticket, challenged her one-vote defeat by Bernard Wanjala, supported by Buettner, and initially refused to hand over power.
The African dispute is particularly sensitive because the continent has 54 member federations and therefore represents the largest voting bloc in the FIDE presidential election.
The wider campaign has also been complicated by Arkady Dvorkovich's continued involvement after withdrawing as a candidate following EU sanctions. His appearance alongside Turlov at the African Chess Confederation assembly prompted further questions about the relationship between the former FIDE president and the campaign that replaced him.
A campaign of complaints
The complaints are coming thick and fast: Buettner has issued a cease-and-desist demand; Rosenstein wants Turlov investigated and potentially disqualified; Turlov's team has threatened legal action over defamation; and FIDE's Electoral Commission, Ethics and Disciplinary Commission and potentially CAS are increasingly being drawn into the campaign.
This is all classic FIDE. We're in for a rocky 44 days.