Chess.com held the 2026 Presidential Debate on its YouTube channel on September 9. All three participants of the FIDE Presidential election 2026 joined the debate. The event began with opening speeches from the candidates. Wadim Rosenstein was the first of the three to deliver his speech.

Wadim Rosenstein

Wadim Rosenstein

WR Chess CEO

“Today this election is presented as a contest between two candidates. I will not join personal disputes or turn the FIDE election into a political or financial show. I want to talk briefly about the facts.

The electoral commission rejected the complaints against me. Somebody was looking for information to make an allegation against me. And I don’t want to judge this. I want all of you to make your own conclusions in this regard.

The key question today is not who is richer or who is more influential. The main question is who will FIDE belong to?

Will it belong to one individual? Will it belong to a group of people or will it belong to the 200 chess federations? I think the president of FIDE must be elected fairly and FIDE cannot be bought.

Everyone should ask one question. Who will you be accountable to when you win? And my answer here is very simple. I will be accountable to all chess federations.

And I wanted to add that the FIDE presidency is not just a project of mine. I will be 24/7 available for everyone. I will pay attention and I will be there for all of you.”

Wadim Rosenstein disconnected from the debate after his opening speech. Debate host Maurice Ashley later reported that Chess.com could not restore the connection with Rosenstein. Wadim has not commented on the situation at the time of publication.

The FIDE President election 2026 will take place at the General Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from September 26 to 27. Kazakh entrepreneur Timur Turlov, WR Chess CEO Wadim Rosenstein, and Freestyle Chess CEO Jan Henric Buettner were accepted by FIDE for participation in the election.

Credit: Lennart Ootes