The European Chess Union (ECU) has said that it has not made a decision to support any candidate in the upcoming election for president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). The clarification was issued on September 17 after ECU President Zurab Azmaiparashvili publicly endorsed Vadim Rosenstein, a German businessman and founder of WR Chess, who has been accused by the Ukrainian Chess Federation of violating sanctions.
“In response to inquiries received regarding social media posts, the ECU clarifies that no decision has yet been made to support any candidate in the upcoming FIDE elections,” the organization said in a statement published on its official website.
The ECU stressed that it remains institutionally neutral and seeks to serve the interests of all 54 of its member federations.
The statement followed a Facebook post by Zurab Azmaiparashvili titled “My Statement on the FIDE Presidential Election.” The ECU president said that after carefully reviewing the election campaign and the candidates’ programs, as well as holding personal meetings and conversations with them, he had decided to support Vadim Rosenstein.
Facebook / European Golden Pawn - Chess Award Ceremony
Azmaiparashvili emphasized that he knows many members of FIDE’s current leadership well and has personal sympathy and respect for several members of the incumbent governing board. For that reason, he said, his position should not be interpreted as a negative assessment of any particular individuals or their work.
At the same time, Azmaiparashvili said that any international organization, after a certain period, needs renewal — new people, new ideas and, as he put it, “new blood.” In his view, the best approach would be to combine the experience of people who know the system well with the energy, ideas and perspectives of those coming from outside.
Azmaiparashvili concluded by stressing that this was his personal decision and personal position. He said he fully respected the right of every national federation and every delegate to make their own choice.
“I wish Vadim and his team success in the election and, even more importantly, I wish the chess world a strong, modern and unifying FIDE,” the ECU president wrote.
Rosenstein’s public endorsement came against the backdrop of the recent European Chess Union leadership election. On July 18, the ECU presidential election was held in Bucharest. The candidates were incumbent ECU President Zurab Azmaiparashvili of Georgia, FIDE Secretary General Lukasz Turlej of Poland, and former French Chess Federation President Bachar Kouatly of France.
Notably, Vadim Rosenstein did not support Azmaiparashvili in that election. Instead, he backed Kouatly’s team, known as ECU New Team. The group campaigned for changes in the leadership of the European chess body, but Kouatly lost the election.
Vadim Rosenstein’s chances in the FIDE presidential election had been viewed as strong, but his position came under greater scrutiny following two episodes during the election campaign.
The candidate effectively withdrew from a debate with his rivals. The debate was scheduled to take place on Chess.com on September 9 and was expected to feature Jan Henric Buettner of Germany, Timur Turlov of Kazakhstan, and Vadim Rosenstein, who holds Russian and German citizenship.
However, Rosenstein disconnected immediately after his opening statement and did not return to the broadcast. According to Chess.com, the platform’s team attempted to contact him and invite him back, but the candidate did not respond or explain why he had left. The remainder of the debate took place between Buettner and Turlov (the full recording of the debate is available via the link).
Kazakh entrepreneur, financier and Freedom Holding Corp. founder Timur Turlov, meanwhile, proposed creating a fund worth more than $6 million to support national federations, organize tournaments, train arbiters and coaches, and help chess players travel to international competitions.
photographer Mark Livshits/FIDE
He also proposed introducing corporate transparency standards into FIDE’s governance and developing anti-cheating technologies, including biometric identification for official online tournaments.
Following the debate, it emerged that the Ukrainian Chess Federation had criticized Rosenstein over his business ties with Russia. According to Ukrainian Chess Federation Vice President Volodymyr Kovalchuk, the organization intends to seek Rosenstein’s inclusion on Ukrainian and European sanctions lists.
According to the UNIAN news agency, the Ukrainian side claims that companies linked to Rosenstein continue to operate in Russia despite his public statements distancing himself from Russian business.
The FIDE presidential election is scheduled to take place on September 26 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
