Turlov puts personal chess funding pledge in FIDE speech

Timur Turlov said he would personally guarantee a four-year chess development fund as he addressed the FIDE Congress in Samarkand on September 26. The presidential candidate urged delegates to judge success by support for ordinary players and national federations, rather than revenue or world titles alone.

«Chess is much, much bigger than just championships and tournaments,» Turlov said at the FIDE General Assembly session on 26 September, reported by Kursiv Uzbekistan. He pointed to children joining school chess clubs and smaller federations struggling to send teams to the Olympiad.

Turlov outlined a development fund of $28 million over four years, saying allocations would be discussed with federations and that support would be made accessible to countries and territories that needed it.

«I gave a personal financial guarantee for that, and I know how to source this money and how to deliver them,» he said. «I publicly name these numbers, and I’m ready to take this responsibility.»

Read more: Turlov outlines $7mn chess support plan in FIDE presidency bid

He also proposed creating a media fund to help federations attract attention from sponsors and governments. Better digital services and a stronger online presence were further priorities.

Turlov said conversations with delegates across several continents had reinforced how differently federations operate. He also offered to work with his election rivals, Wadim Rosenstein and Jan Henric Buettner, on worthwhile elements of their programmes after the vote.

His platform and how the vote works

Turlov, the Freedom Holding founder and Kazakhstan Chess Federation president, has campaigned for predictable funding, stronger digital infrastructure and greater decision-making power for national federations. He is running alongside five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand.

Read more: Who is running for FIDE president and how voting works

The official election agenda lists three presidential tickets:

Turlov–Anand

Buettner–Malcolm Pein

and Rosenstein–Gordon Tang.

Each eligible federation represented at the General Assembly has one vote. Under FIDE’s electoral rules, voting is by secret ballot; a ticket needs an absolute majority to win in the first round. If none achieves that, the two leading tickets advance to a second ballot.