On 24 July 2026, Arkady Dvorkovich announced that he was voluntarily suspending his duties as president of Fide, the international federation. Dvorkovich is a former deputy prime minister of Russia, so when he was named in the EU’s 21st sanctions package, there was little room for manoeuvre. Rather than let the sanctions paralyse the federation’s operations, he stepped back ‘with immediate effect’, handing over to deputy president Viswanathan Anand, the five-time world champion.

This is not the first time Fide has found itself in this position. Dvorkovich’s predecessor Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, former president of the Russian republic of Kalmykia, was added to the US Treasury Department sanctions list in 2015 (albeit removed in 2025), which led, in 2018, to the closure of Fide’s Swiss bank accounts – the same year Dvorkovich was elected.

In any case, Fide will soon elect a new president; the next election is due to take place alongside the Olympiad in Samarkand late next month. Surprisingly, Ilyumzhinov announced his candidacy, and the Russian federation gave its support. But when the final trio of candidates was announced, Ilyumzhinov’s name was absent.

The closest to a continuity candidate is Timur Turlov, the Kazakh billionaire founder of Freedom Holding, which has sponsored several major Fide events and was announced in April as a partner of Fide during 2026. Turlov had planned to run as Dvorkovich’s deputy but will now run for president with Anand as his deputy.

Jan Henric Buettner, another presidential candidate, casts himself as ‘a builder, not a manager of the status quo’. The internet entrepreneur, who co-founded the Freestyle Chess series of events, clashed with Fide last year after it placed contractual pressure on players not to compete in an event with a rival  ‘world championship’ billing. Buettner called the move coercive, though fences were mended earlier this year with the launch of the first Fide Freestyle World Championship. His running mate is Englishman Malcolm Pein, who is the founder and chief executive of the charity Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC), and the organiser of the London Chess Classic.

The third candidate, Wadim Rosenstein, is a German entrepreneur and chairman of WR Group, one of chess’s biggest private sponsors. Rosenstein has positioned himself as a reform candidate, promising ‘stronger leadership, professional governance’ and a clearer vision for Fide’s future, with Chinese businessman Gordon Tang as his running mate.

The latest event organised by the WR Group was a Rapid and Blitz match between Uzbekistan and the USA, held in Miami last month. USA won both rapid and blitz sections, with a 14-10 overall score. But the game below was an elegant win for Uzbekistan’s soon-to-be world championship challenger, Sindarov.

Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) – Hikaru Nakamura (USA)

WR Chess Rapid & Blitz, Miami, July 2026

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 d4 Nxe4 4 Bd3 d5 5 Nxe5 Nd7 6 Nxd7 Bxd7 7 O-O Bd6 8 Nc3 Nxc3 9 bxc3 O-O 10 Qh5 f5 11 Rb1 b6 12 Re1 c6 13 c4 dxc4 A mistake, allowing White’s pieces spring to life. 13…Qf6 was safer. 14 Bxc4+ Kh8 15 Bg5 Qc7 15…Be8! was the last chance, but Black’s position hangs by a thread. 16 Bf7! The key idea. There is no good answer to the threat of Bf7-g6. Bxh2+ 17 Kh1 Bf4 18 Re7 Rad8 18…Bxg5 19 Qxg5 followed by Bf7-e6 wins. 19 Bf6! Qd6 Or 19…gxf6 20 Bg8! h6 21 Rh7+ Kxg8 22 Qg6# 20 Bg6 h6 21 Bxg7+ Kg8 22 Bh7+! Black resigns