Kirsan Ilyumzhinov shared his opinion on the results of the FIDE Presidential Election 2026. Ilyumzhinov believes that Timur Turlov has no right to hold positions in FIDE due to sanctions imposed on him. Kirsan notes that the election results may be annulled by CAS.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

Former FIDE President

“The FIDE Council decision from 2022 does not specifically state which sanctions a person must be under to be denied the right to hold a position in FIDE. European, American, Russian, and so on.

And now Wadim Rosenstein has filed documents with CAS asking the Lausanne Arbitration Court to clarify whether Timur Turlov, who has been under Ukrainian sanctions since 2022, could have run in the election.

We will see what decision CAS ultimately makes. I do not know how they will get out of this complex collision. That is, according to FIDE’s own decision from 2022, Turlov, like Dvorkovich, had no right to be elected.

[Question: Do you consider it possible that CAS may annul the election results?]

I definitely think so, considering this rule wasn’t adopted yesterday, but four years ago.

[Question: If the election results are annulled, how will things unfold?]

Then new elections will be scheduled. In three months at an extraordinary Congress. I am not ready to say further. Let us wait for the CAS decision.”

Ukraine imposed personal economic sanctions on Timur Turlov and his brokerage firm, Freedom Finance Ukraine, in October 2022. The Ukrainian government did not lift the sanctions from Turlov after he renounced his Russian citizenship in 2022.

The FIDE Presidential Election 2026 took place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 26. Timur Turlov won the election by defeating Wadim Rosenstein 110 votes to 85 in the second round. 70% of Jan Henric Buettner’s votes went to Turlov after the first round.

Credit: David Llada