Kazakhstan has reached the top of world chess governance. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated Timur Turlov on his election as President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), wishing him success as head of one of the world’s largest sports organizations, деп хабарлайды DKNews.kz.
Turlov, President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, was elected on September 26 during the FIDE General Assembly in Samarkand, held alongside the 46th Chess Olympiad. He becomes the first representative of Kazakhstan to head FIDE.
Tokayev sends congratulatory telegram
President Tokayev sent a congratulatory telegram to Turlov shortly after the election result was announced.
The Head of State described Turlov as President of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist, and congratulated him on taking charge of the international federation.
Tokayev wished his compatriot success in his new role as head of the prestigious global organization.
For Kazakhstan, the election gives the country direct representation at the highest executive level of international chess at a time when its national teams, young players and chess development programs are becoming increasingly visible internationally.
Turlov wins FIDE election in Samarkand
The election took place at the FIDE General Assembly on September 26.
Three presidential candidates entered the race: Timur Turlov of Kazakhstan and Germany’s Vadim Rosenstein and Jan Henric Buettner.
Turlov ran on the same ticket as five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who sought the position of FIDE Deputy President. The campaign combined Turlov’s business and management background with Anand’s experience at the highest level of professional chess.
The election concludes a campaign that began earlier this summer and focused on how FIDE should adapt to the rapid global growth of chess.
What Turlov proposed for FIDE
Turlov’s election program was built around institutional modernization rather than changes to chess itself.
His campaign identified five main areas:
- stronger and more transparent FIDE governance;
- digital infrastructure for national federations;
- greater financial sustainability;
- broader access to FIDE resources regardless of a federation’s size or financial capacity;
- higher tournament standards and more opportunities for players, coaches and national federations.
During the campaign, Turlov also proposed a fund worth more than $6 million to support national federations, tournaments, training for coaches and arbiters, and players’ participation in international competitions.
His proposals also included anti-cheating technologies and biometric identification for official online competitions.
Kazakhstan’s chess profile has grown alongside the campaign
Turlov’s election comes during an unusually active period for Kazakhstan in international chess.
The country has expanded school chess programs, hosted major international competitions and increased support for young players and national teams. Kazakhstan’s women have also remained among the leading teams at the ongoing Olympiad in Samarkand.
FIDE itself recently recognized Gulmira Dauletova, Executive Director of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation and a member of the FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess, for her contribution to promoting women’s chess internationally.
Turlov’s move from the presidency of the national federation to the leadership of FIDE takes Kazakhstan’s international role in the sport to a different level: the new president will now be responsible for an organization representing national chess federations around the world rather than one country’s chess system.
The election also completes a story we have followed since the beginning of the campaign. In August, we reported in detail on Timur Turlov entering the FIDE presidential race alongside five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand.
