FIDE President Timur Turlov spoke about creating more opportunities for chess players. Turlov proposes increasing the annual FIDE development fund by almost 4 times. Timur notes that he will personally support the initiative financially for the first year.

Timur Turlov

Timur Turlov

FIDE President

“I propose increasing the annual budget of the FIDE Development Fund from €1.6 million to €6.2 million.

I will provide the capital for the first year from personal funds as a non-repayable donation. Then we will attract corporate partners, private patrons, and international organizations to the financing.”

Timur Turlov is a Russian-born Kazakh entrepreneur, billionaire, and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. Turlov won the FIDE Presidential Election 2026 by defeating Wadim Rosenstein 110 votes to 85 in late September.

Credit: Michal Walusza / FIDE