Turlov Facing More Criticism
By Douglas C. · Thu, 15 Oct 2026
Danish grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen has once again publicly challenged new FIDE President Timur Turlov to explain why the Russian Rapid Championship is proceeding as a FIDE-rated event with participants from Crimea and other occupied Ukrainian regions.
Danish grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen has once again publicly challenged new FIDE President Timur Turlov to explain why the Russian Rapid Championship is proceeding as a FIDE-rated event with participants from Crimea and other occupied Ukrainian regions. In a post on X on October 15, tagging Turlov and the IOC's media account, Nielsen said Turlov had promised to follow international law and the Court of Arbitration for Sport verdict, and asked why FIDE is not taking action. Neither FIDE nor Turlov had responded in any source reviewed.
What Nielsen's post says
The post says the event is a FIDE-rated Russian rapid championship and that it includes participants from "illegally occupied" Crimea and Luhansk. It attaches a screenshot of a ranked player list in which two entries are circled, and the regions shown for them are the Republic of Crimea and the Donetsk People's Republic, not Luhansk. The post does not explain the difference, and the players are not named here. Nielsen's post also does not say whether the list is from the women's or the open championship.
The Russian Chess Federation's calendar lists men's and women's rapid championships in Sochi on October 13 to 16. It does not state their rating status, so the "FIDE-rated" description rests on Nielsen's post.
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What CAS and FIDE decided
In March, CAS found the Chess Federation of Russia had breached FIDE rules by organizing chess activity in regions internationally recognized as Ukrainian, in a case brought by the Ukrainian Chess Federation. It ordered the federation to stop regulating chess activity and events in Sevastopol, Crimea, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia within 90 days, or face automatic suspension for three years. The deadline passed on June 9, and the federation acknowledged it had not complied. FIDE suspended it from around June 10, for three years or until it complies.
The reports on the ruling describe an order covering the federation's own activity and events in those regions. They do not say how it applies to players from those regions entering events elsewhere in Russia, and they do not address rating treatment. In June, according to Chess.com, the FIDE Council also told its management to develop procedures so tournaments in Russia can stay in the FIDE rating system and Russian players can keep earning titles, norms and FIDE IDs. Nielsen called FIDE's plan for neutral-flag Russian teams morally and legally wrong at the time, and has separately claimed the federation organized 1,350 events in the regions under a Russian flag.
Turlov's position
On September 22, before the election, Turlov said any administration he led would follow the CAS ruling, citing the need to stay compliant with the Olympic movement. Reuters reported he called respect for the ruling a "red line," according to World Chess. He was elected on September 26, and delegates rejected proposals from Armenia, Belarus, Cuba and Nicaragua to restore the federation's membership. Turlov has said he hopes Russia can return once it meets the conditions.
What to watch
The open question is whether the CAS ruling and the suspension reach a rated national championship that includes players from the listed regions, and whether the rating procedures FIDE's Council asked for in June still stand under the new administration. The Russian federation has said it is subject to Russian law and has reserved the right to challenge the decision. The Sochi championship runs through October 16, so any FIDE reply may come while the event is still being played.
Sources
- Peter Heine Nielsen (@PHChess), post on X (Oct 15, 2026)
- Chess.com, “Russia’s Chess Federation Suspended After Refusing To Halt Events In Occupied Ukraine”
- ChessBase, “Court of Arbitration for Sport finds FIDE sanctions insufficient, imposes new measures on Russian Federation”
- World Chess, “Russia’s Deadline To Stop Hosting Chess Events In Ukraine Passes: What Will FIDE Do?”
- World Chess, “Russia Seeks ‘Hundreds Of Millions’ In Assets From New FIDE President Turlov”
- Daily Sabah, “FIDE candidate Turlov backs CAS ruling on Russian players”
- Russian Chess Federation, tournament calendar
