Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announces his candidacy for FIDE President

Update 02.08.2026: this candidacy was not made official. In the end, three official tickets have been submitted and validated by FIDE office.

I congratulate you on International Chess Day. This celebration unites millions of professionals and enthusiasts around the world.

Today, I announce my candidacy for President of the International Chess Federation in the elections to be held in Uzbekistan in September 2026. I have made this decision because FIDE once again needs unity, strong leadership, and a clear vision of its future. For me, FIDE is not merely an international organization. It is the work of my life.

In 1995, I assumed the leadership of the Federation during one of the most difficult periods in its history. Internal divisions, financial problems, and the threat of a split called into question the very existence of a single global governing body for chess. Many believed that FIDE could no longer be saved. But we saved it. We preserved the unity of the Federation, restored the World Championship system, strengthened the international calendar, expanded the geographical reach of major tournaments, and transformed chess into a truly global movement.

In 1999, under my leadership, FIDE achieved a historic breakthrough: the International Olympic Committee officially recognized chess as a sport and FIDE as the international sports federation representing world chess. Today, I undertake to complete the work we began at that time: to secure the inclusion of chess in the official programme of the Olympic Games and ensure that FIDE takes its rightful place within the international Olympic movement. Olympic status would provide national federations with new opportunities for public funding, the development of young players, and the growth of chess in every region of the world.

I also undertake to provide FIDE with a strong financial foundation and to conclude long-term sponsorship agreements with the world’s leading multinational corporations. These resources must support championships, national federations, children’s, youth, and women’s chess, as well as the development of chess in countries that currently lack sufficient resources.

I led FIDE for twenty-three years, and I know how to resolve crises that appear insurmountable. Today, the Federation’s principal sporting symbol—the title of Classical World Champion—has lost some of its former authority. Magnus Carlsen, the world’s highest-rated player and one of the greatest champions in history, has withdrawn from the classical World Championship cycle, yet he remains a central figure in world chess. This is not the fault of a great player. It is a challenge for FIDE. The Federation must answer a fundamental question: why does the strongest player on the planet no longer regard the struggle for the classical chess crown as the principal goal of his career?

We have resolved a similar problem before. In 2006, under the auspices of FIDE, we organized the reunification match in Elista between Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. It ended years of division and restored a single, undisputed World Champion. We united the chess world then, and we can do so again.

If elected, I undertake to begin direct negotiations with Magnus Carlsen personally and to do everything necessary to bring him back into the FIDE Classical World Championship cycle. Carlsen’s return must not be a privilege granted to one player, but evidence that the authority of the entire World Championship system has been restored. The World Champion must stand as the undisputed pinnacle of world chess, and competing for that title must once again become the highest sporting ambition of the strongest players on the planet.

An equally serious problem is the growing distance between the FIDE leadership and a number of national federations. Smaller and developing federations do not always feel that their voices are being heard. The divisions between elite and grassroots chess, wealthy and less prosperous countries, traditional chess centres and emerging regions, and classical and digital formats continue to widen.

The world is becoming increasingly divided. FIDE’s motto—Gens una sumus, “We are one family”—must not remain a formality. The leadership of the Federation must unite the chess world rather than deepen existing divisions.

I am returning neither for power nor to recreate the past. I am returning for one presidential term: to unite the chess world, restore the confidence of national federations, return prestige to the World Championship title, bring chess into the Olympic programme, secure international sponsorship for FIDE, and prepare a worthy successor.

My task is to hand over to the next generation a strong, independent, financially sustainable, and united Federation. No leader, regardless of his achievements, should become irreplaceable. I therefore undertake to initiate an amendment to the FIDE Charter limiting the presidency to two terms.

Today, on International Chess Day, I declare that I am ready once again to assume responsibility for the International Chess Federation—to restore its unity and prepare it for a new era.

The time has come to unite the chess world once again.

Gens una sumus.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

President of FIDE, 1995–2018