The FIDE Congress is being held in Samarkand as part of the 46th World Chess Olympiad. One of its key events will be the elections for the leadership of the International Chess Federation. Voting for president and vice-president will take place on September 26 at the General Assembly. The president and vice-president are elected as a single ticket, and each national federation participating in the General Assembly has one vote.
Three candidate pairs are contesting the election. Arkady Dvorkovich, re-elected as FIDE President in 2022, voluntarily suspended his powers on July 23 after being added to the European Union's sanctions list. Anand has been temporarily entrusted with the duties of president. He is running for vice-president alongside Turlov. Dvorkovich was not included in the list of candidates.
A Gazeta correspondent, Georgy Shvanov, interviewed one of the presidential candidates — German entrepreneur, founder of WR Chess and chairman of the board of WR Group Holding, Vadim Rosenstein. He was one of the initiators of the team World Rapid and Blitz Championship, organized WR Chess Masters tournaments, and launched the WR Women’s Chess Tour series. In the interview, Rosenstein explained why he decided to run, what he intends to change in FIDE, how he plans to attract new audiences and sponsors, and shared his views on politics in sports, cheating, esports, and the future of chess.
Rosenstein spoke about his love for chess since childhood: "Chess became my favorite hobby and remains so to this day. My grandfather taught me to play. Later, when I was in 5th grade in Germany, we were offered to join a chess club. Since then I fell in love with chess, participated in school competitions, then joined a club and won the German championship with it." He emphasized the benefits of chess for developing thinking, decision-making, tactical and strategic planning, and discipline.
In his program, the candidate aims to develop FIDE's digital infrastructure, introduce modern IT solutions, a KPI system for employees, improve communications, and turn the organization into an independent, serious, and more professional structure. He also plans to attract new sponsors and companies, create a fundraising and marketing department, and popularize chess among the 600 million players. "I would like at least half of the world's population to play chess," Rosenstein said.
He noted the need to preserve the elegance of chess while making it accessible to all: "If a person cannot afford a tuxedo, it does not mean they cannot play chess. For young people, it is important to have elite sport as an aspiration." Rosenstein is confident in the possibility of including chess in the Olympic program and noted that his team includes professionals who are members of national Olympic committees in various countries.
Speaking about politics in sports, Rosenstein stressed that chess should unite nations, but FIDE, as part of the international sports community, must comply with courts, laws, and rules: "Unfortunately, today we are forced to follow these decisions and rules, even if it is hard." He added that it is necessary to follow the IOC's recommendations on keeping sports free from politics.
Regarding cheating, Rosenstein stated the need to equip FIDE's Fair Play Commission with appropriate equipment and make control a common practice on all continents. He acknowledged that online competitions are more complex, platforms are developing mathematical methods to detect cheating, but the problem is not fully solved. He called esports a promising direction: "Esports events in chess are very spectacular: the atmosphere resembles a football stadium, people get a lot of positive emotions."
Rosenstein links the future of chess to faster formats and hopes that FIDE will become the organization with the largest membership. "You can play chess at any age, at any level, and anywhere — on a plane or on vacation. This sport should unite as many people as possible," he said. Gazeta also offered an interview to another candidate — Kazakh entrepreneur, founder of Freedom Holding Corp., Timur Turlov.
Source: www.gazeta.uz