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Chess Politics

Turlov Wants Facial Recognition And AI In FIDE War On Chess CheatingOne policy proposal did pop out of the FIDE presidential debate.September 10, 2026·4 min read

The Horrible, Horrible FIDE Presidential Debate I Just Sat Through—Winners And LosersWadim Rosenstein promised to be available 24/7, then vanished after four minutes. Timur Turlov talked like a man who has built something. Jan Henric Buettner brought an org chart. Ilya Merenzon on FIDE's first, and worst, presidential debate.September 9, 2026·7 min read

FIDE Election 2026: Who Could Vote—And Why Russia Couldn'tThe 2026 FIDE presidential election was decided by national chess federations from around the world—but not every FIDE member had a vote. Here's who was eligible, why Russia was excluded and how many federations ultimately took part.September 2, 2026·5 min read

18 Candidates, Four Jobs: The Other FIDE Election Race Gets CrowdedForget the three-way battle to become FIDE President. Another extraordinary election is taking place in Samarkand this month, with 18 candidates from around the world fighting for just four elected Vice President positions.September 1, 2026·3 min read

Turlov Says He Renounced Russian Citizenship Because Of Ukraine WarFIDE presidential candidate Timur Turlov says Russia's invasion of Ukraine was behind his decision to renounce his Russian citizenship and become a Kazakh national.August 26, 2026·6 min read

'No Russian Teams': FIDE Blocks Russia From 2026 Chess OlympiadRussia will miss a third successive Chess Olympiad after FIDE rejected a last-minute attempt to return its national teams for Samarkand 2026 — even under a neutral flag.August 24, 2026·8 min read

How To Fix FIDE: What Can Be Done To Reform Chess's Governing Body?Timur Turlov's bid to succeed the suspended Arkady Dvorkovich has focused attention on the future of FIDE.August 19, 2026·8 min read

FIDE Election 2026: The Latest Standings (By Our Reckoning)With no obvious winner in sight, World Chess looks at the electoral maths that will decide who controls FIDE for the next four years.August 17, 2026·9 min read

They're All Turning On Each Other: FIDE Election Turns Into Bunfight Between CandidatesTurlov, Buettner and Rosenstein are fighting like rats in a barrel. One of them has to come out on top.August 13, 2026·7 min read

FIDE Hands Russia A Propaganda Victory As Russian University Wins World ChampionshipPresident of the Chess Federation of Russia congratulates winning team and hails "wonderful gift to Russian fans." But FIDE says this isn't a team representing Russia.August 9, 2026·6 min read

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Total Chess 2026: Everything You Need To Know

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Carlsen Strikes First As Total Chess Begins—But Vaishali Steals The Spotlight

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Chess Terms

Term of the day

Chess Pin

A pinned piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable one behind it.

More terms

One move, two threats: a fork attacks two pieces at once, and only one can be saved.

The reverse of a pin: the valuable piece is hit first and the one behind it falls.

Discovered Attack

A piece steps aside and uncovers an attack from the piece it was blocking.

Back Rank Checkmate

Mate on the last rank: the king's own pawns leave it nowhere to run.

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