Azmaiparashvili Re-Elected European Chess Union President
Sat, 18 Jul 2026
Zurab Azmaiparashvili won another term as ECU President at the union's General Assembly in Bucharest, extending a tenure that began in 2014.
Zurab Azmaiparashvili was re-elected President of the European Chess Union at the ECU General Assembly in Bucharest, with his ticket receiving 35 of 53 votes cast.Azmaiparashvili has led the ECU since 2014. Vlad Ardeleanu was elected Deputy President as part of the same ticket, and the assembly's result was seen within the union as a mandate to continue the administrative modernization program already underway.The re-election comes as the ECU rolls out its C.E.S.S. digital funding program, launched in Bucharest in May, and prepares for a European Chess Super League planned for 2027 — both initiatives Azmaiparashvili has championed as part of the union's broader push to professionalize its operations and competitive calendar.The Bucharest assembly took place against the backdrop of the wider dispute over Russian and Belarusian participation that has divided FIDE's membership, an issue the ECU, as Europe's largest continental federation, has significant influence over even though the vote itself was focused on the union's own leadership.Azmaiparashvili's new term will run in parallel with the FIDE presidential election in September, giving the veteran administrator a prominent voice in that contest as one of the sport's most experienced continental leaders.