Another Billionaire Joins the Race for FIDE Presidency
By Douglas C. · Fri, 24 Jul 2026
When the ground shifted under Arkady Dvorkovich this week, Timur Turlov didn't hesitate. The Kazakh billionaire and Freedom Holding founder, who spent the past month building his campaign as Dvorkovich's running mate, has now put himself forward as a candidate for FIDE president in his own right, with five-time world champion, Viswanathan Anand standing as his deputy.
When the ground shifted under Arkady Dvorkovich this week, Timur Turlov didn't hesitate. The Kazakh billionaire and Freedom Holding founder, who spent the past month building his campaign as Dvorkovich's running mate, has now put himself forward as a candidate for FIDE president in his own right, with five-time world champion, Viswanathan Anand standing as his deputy.A fast-moving 48 hoursThe reshuffle followed a whirlwind couple of days. On July 23, the EU added Dvorkovich to its 21st sanctions package against Russia, citing his role in supporting policies that undermine Ukraine's sovereignty. Facing an asset freeze and travel ban that threatened to paralyse FIDE's operations, Dvorkovich announced he would voluntarily suspend his presidential powers while vowing to challenge the decision through the courts. Anand, FIDE's deputy president since 2022, stepped in as interim president to keep the federation steady.From running mate to frontrunnerTurlov's path to this moment began in late June, when he joined Dvorkovich's ticket as the incumbent's deputy presidential candidate ahead of September's election, a natural extension of his three years leading the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, during which the country's school and junior programmes expanded rapidly. Dvorkovich's sanctioning made that ticket unworkable almost overnight. Rather than step back, Turlov chose to run.A genuinely contested fieldHe now joins four declared candidates. German organiser Wadim Rosenstein and Freestyle Chess founder Jan Henric Buettner have each positioned themselves as reform candidates focused on governance and transparency. Former FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, whose 23-year tenure ended in 2018, has secured the backing of the suspended Russian Chess Federation. Against that field, Turlov brings serious financial weight (Freedom Holding has invested more than $75 million in chess and bought ChessBase outright), plus a running mate in Anand whose standing among players is close to unmatched.What it means for FIDETurlov has framed his bid around renewal, describing FIDE as a century-old institution at a crossroads in need of fresh energy. Whether that lands with FIDE's roughly 200 member federations will hinge on how convincingly he and Anand can separate the ticket from the political baggage that ended Dvorkovich's run. With Samarkand's vote now shaping up as a genuine four-way contest, September's General Assembly looks like the most unpredictable FIDE election in recent times.