The first presidential debate of the FIDE election campaign took place on Chess.com on September 9, 17 days before the election scheduled for September 26 in Samarkand. Three candidates were due to take part: Timur Turlov , Chairman of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, and German entrepreneurs Jan Henric Buettner and Wadim Rosenstein. However, most of the discussion was between Turlov and Buettner: after Rosenstein’s opening statement, his connection to the broadcast was lost and he was unable to return to the debate.
Connection Lost After Opening Statement
In his opening remarks, Rosenstein raised what he described as a central question for FIDE’s future leadership: who should own the federation — one person, a group of people, or more than 200 national federations. He also spoke about the leadership’s accountability to the federations and the need to remain accessible to them after the election.
Rosenstein later said that he lost his internet connection immediately after his opening statement, which prevented him from rejoining the broadcast.
Timur Turlov’s Program
Unlike Rosenstein’s brief appearance, Timur Turlov’s program was discussed in greater detail during the debate. The candidate proposed creating a development fund of more than $6 million. Under his proposal, the money would help national federations organize open tournaments, train arbiters and coaches, develop infrastructure and support players traveling to competitions.
Turlov cited Kazakhstan as an example. According to the candidate, targeted funding helped Kazakh athletes win more than 140 medals last year. The model is intended to direct investment not only toward major international competitions but also toward the day-to-day development of chess in individual countries.
Another part of the program focuses on digital technology. Turlov proposed investing in modern anti-cheating systems and considering biometric identification for official online tournaments. He also supported the development of faster formats of classical chess while preserving the traditional game.
Timur Turlov also addressed FIDE’s finances and transparency. He proposed drawing on his management experience at Freedom Holding Corp., a publicly traded company whose shares are listed on Nasdaq. According to figures cited by the candidate, the company has more than 10,000 employees and 14 million clients.
During the debate, Turlov spoke about independent directors, auditors and transparent financial reporting. He also said he planned to change FIDE’s leadership team if elected, without naming specific candidates.
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Buettner Focuses on Commercial Development
Jan Henric Buettner presented a different approach to the federation’s development. The co-founder of Freestyle Chess spoke about attracting major international sponsors, diversifying FIDE’s revenue sources and further developing women’s chess. His program calls for 20% of FIDE’s total revenues to be distributed to national federations.
For FIDE, this means the election debate has moved beyond the question of the tournament calendar. The candidates discussed how to structure funding for national federations, improve the organization’s transparency and make chess more accessible to players in different countries and regions.
The debate ultimately offered a comparison of two different models. Timur Turlov focused primarily on a development fund, technology, transparency and management changes. Buettner emphasized commercial development and revenue distribution.
The vote for FIDE president is set for September 26, when the federation’s General Assembly convenes in Samarkand. Three electoral teams are competing for the presidency: Jan Henric Buettner with Malcolm Pein, Wadim Rosenstein with Gordon Tang, and Timur Turlov with five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand. Under FIDE’s voting rules, every national federation entitled to take part in the election is represented by a single vote.
