7/25/2019 – FIDE continues to encourage public participation in its wide-ranging survey with research firm Nielsen and the survey closes this weekend. Now is your last chance to participate! Meanwhile, another Nielsen, Magnus Carlsen's second Peter Heine Nielsen, continues to engage FIDE leadership in a public discussion around financial transparency and leadership.

7/12/2019 – No, not Carlsen-second Peter Heine Nielsen, but rather the global measurement and data analytics company which has been contracted by FIDE to evaluate the chess market. Chess players of all levels from casual fans to grandmasters are encouraged to participate in a survey, and the international chess federation is offering an incentive in the form of two hours of training with none other than the 14th World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik.

4/26/2019 – Today FIDE has released new regulations for the upcoming World Championship cycle (both Open and Women). The overall championship match is being extended from 12 to 14 games, and draws will no longer be permitted before move 40. Players can qualify to the Candidates Tournament via the revised Grand Prix, now a series of knockout tournaments, and a new "Grand Swiss" to be held in October on the Isle of Man.

3/16/2019 – He became an IM at the age of 19. The next logical step would have been to work towards his GM title. But Armin Juhasz from Hungary had different plans. He decided to devote his time towards becoming a trainer. Working hard on the subject he was able to create a World under-12 champion, a Hungarian champion and much more. What attracted the youngster to the field of training at such a young age? How does he prepare and what according to him are the qualities that a good coach must have? IM SAGAR SHAH decided to find out. | Photo: www.theophoto.hu

3/1/2019 – The organizers of the Olympic Games periodically consider proposals for new sports to be included. FIDE has applied for chess to be on the list. Just two weeks ago we reported "the Olympic dream is alive", but once more the sport did not make the cut. LA 2028 anyone?

2/13/2019 – When, if not now? FIDE tries again to include chess into the Olympic Programme. In 1924 FIDE was founded when the Olympic Games took part in Paris, and in 2024 FIDE wants to celebrate this anniversary by making chess olympic. Conrad Schormann explains why the chances for this to happen are better than ever.

1/23/2019 – The road to the Candidates tournament in 2020 is starting to emerge. World Chess / Agon will no longer organise either the Candidates or the 2020 World Championship match. FIDE has launched a new qualification path — the FIDE "Grand Swiss"— a Swiss tournament for which 100 players will be eligible. The winner (and maybe more) qualify for the Candidates Tournament. The Grand Prix series is back too, albeit as a quintet of knockout tournaments. Dates and host cities are still TBA. Here's what we know now...

10/7/2018 – The FIDE Presidential election was not the only heated contest at the FIDE Congress. The African Chess Confederation held an election for its President and deputies as well, which proved to be much closer than the FIDE election and included its own case of "withdraw and endorse" at the eleventh hour. But unlike Nigel Short, ACC candidate Tshepo Sitale's plea to support insurgent candidate Essoh Essis failed to tip the scales sufficiently to stave off Lewis Ncube — an Ilyumzhinov loyalist who supported Dvorkovich — who was narrowly re-elected to a new term. | All photos: Macauley Peterson

10/5/2018 – We present the highlights and analysis of an extraordinary day in Batumi: The FIDE General Assembly convened Wednesday in Batumi, in a hotly contested presidential election that was closer than it has been in decades, but not as close as expected, with many delegates still undecided right up until the end. It will be a new chapter in the history of FIDE as the reign of Greek International Master Georgios Makropoulos draws to a close after 103 federation delegates voted in favour of the Russian Arkady Dvorkovich. Nigel Short, who made a dramatic last-minute endorsement of Dvorkovich, was later appointed to be one of several Vice-Presidents. | All photos: David Llada / batumi2018.fide.com

10/2/2018 – "Georgios Makropoulos, the person who has ruled chess for almost three decades, has barely given any interviews," starts a new interview profile of the FIDE presidential candidate on the new American Chess Magazine blog. Indeed, while ChessBase has previously published long conversations with Makropoulos' running-mate Malcolm Pein, as well as Makropoulos' rivals, self-proclaimed "insurgent candidate" GM Nigel Short and Russian economic policy expert Arkady Dvorkovich, the incumbent has declined other interview requests. We run down the topics and key quotes with kind permission of ACM. | Photo: David Llada

9/30/2018 – The FIDE Ethics Commission ruled this afternoon that the Serbian Chess Federation President is guilty of selling his vote as a delegate to the FIDE Congress. However, there was "absence of sufficient proof" linking the money to the Dvorkovich campaign. The case was seen as an important prerequisite to the October 3rd election at the General Assembly. Had Dvokovich been found guilty, he could have been suspended from the race, with no time to appeal to the Court of Arbitration and Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. | Pictured: Ethics Commission chair Francois Strydom (left) and member Ion-Serban Dobronauteanu at a hearing on September 28th | Photo: Niklesh Jain

9/27/2018 – Less than a week before the FIDE election, the international chess community is focused on who shall govern chess in the next four years. JOHN FOLEY and STEFAN LÖFFLER want to bring the conversation back to the principles, structures and procedures by which chess should be governed. Chess, they suggest, can learn from other sports, and what better way than to bring together international experts on sports governance in a conference "New Governance Standards in Sport: Lessons for Chess" which will take place this Saturday, September 29th, in Batumi during the 43rd Chess Olympiad. Entry is free. | Photo: Frederic Köberl / ChessBase

9/26/2018 – One week from today, FIDE delegates will meet for their General Assembly and elect a new President. (Vote in our reader poll!) With the era of Ilyumzhinov now over, the race has become quite competitive. It remains a three-way contest between Georgios Makropoulos, Nigel Short and Arkady Dvorkovich. The election campaign is in full swing (with gloves off) and we'll be bringing you up to date on the major events of the past weeks as well as late-breaking news, in a series of articles leading up to the big day on October 3rd. Who would you vote for?

9/13/2018 – The World Chess Championship 2018 is still two months away but some federations are already looking ahead to 2020. Depending on the winner of the forthcoming World Championship match in November in London, the USA or Norway may, of course, want to host the next edition. However, the Austrian Federation would also like to celebrate its 100-year jubilee with a very special event and recently received an official visit. | Pictured: Central Vienna | Photo: Public domain via Creative Commons

8/11/2018 – Given the recent history of Russian diplomatic resources being exercised to aid the re-election bids of FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, it is not terribly surprising that evidence is emerging of similar official government actions in support of the Russian candidate in 2018, Arkady Dvorkovich. However, in a new development, the Russian leader Vladimir Putin himself has apparently directly intervened in the Kremlin’s global campaign to get national chess federations to support his former deputy prime minister, adding weight to communiqués from embassies which are also surfacing. | Photo: kremlin.ru

7/27/2018 – Arkady Dvorkovich has been on tour for his electoral campaign and made stops at the Biel International Chess Festival and, a day after, at the Sparkassen Chess-Meeting in Dortmund (where he made the ceremonial first move for the game Kovalev-Kramnik). Macauley Peterson and Georgios Souleidis interviewed him on topics ranging from his plans for FIDE if elected, his connection to the Russian government, Agon, and political campaign wrangling. | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

7/4/2018 – During the next Chess Olympiad, a new president will be elected at the FIDE Congress. That much became clear after Kirsan Ilyumzhinov officially withdrew his candidacy last weekend. The three options, now officially confirmed by FIDE, are Georgios Makropoulos, Nigel Short and Arkady Dvorkovich. Let us bring you — even the FIDE political neophyte — up to date. Break out the popcorn folks, it's going to be an interesting three months!

6/25/2018 – IM Malcolm Pein, now a candidate for FIDE Deputy President, took time out from a full schedule for a chat with Macauley Peteron in Leuven at the end of the "Your Next Move Rapid and Blitz" tournament. Malcolm discussed the Grand Chess Tour, the FIDE / Agon proposed "broadcast policy," the upcoming World Championship in London, and his thoughts on the election including having his old friend Nigel Short as a political sparring partner. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

6/19/2018 – Nigel Short is in a four-way race for President of FIDE, to be decided in an election in Batumi at the Chess Olympiad on October 3rd. Until a few days ago, it was a three-way race with one of those being the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. But now the Russian Chess Federation is poised to nominate someone else: Russian economist and politician Arkady Dvorkovich. Macauley Peterson spoke to Nigel for an hour in Leuven, during the first stop of Grand Chess Tour, to get his current thoughts on the race. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

6/4/2018 – Georgios Makropoulos circulated an email announcing his team for the upcoming FIDE Presidential elections on Monday afternoon. There were no real surprises, as nearly the entire slate has run alongside him in prior elections, and the only new name, English Delegate IM Malcolm Pein, was widely expected to be in the running for Deputy President. | Photos: 'FIDE Forward'

5/10/2018 – Nigel Short wants to become FIDE President. In 2010 and in 2014 Short supported the campaigns of Karpov and Kasparov. It's been a while since three candidates ran for president in the FIDE elections, but now Ilyumzhinov, Makropoulos, and Short are all in the running. CONRAD SCHORMANN recounts a bit of history and shares his opinion of what is bound to be an interesting period in international chess politics. | Photo: British Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic

5/2/2018 – What's going to be the next twist in the race for FIDE President? The election is set for October and, for now, we have only two candidates — the controversial incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, and his long-time deputy, Georgios Makropoulos, who has now turned against him. MALCOLM PEIN weighs in on the situation following the recent FIDE Presidential Board meeting in Minsk, Belarus. After this article from CHESS Magazine went to press, rumours began circulating of a new potential third candidate soon throwing his hat into the ring. For that, we'll have to wait and see, but it's looking like things could get interesting, with the future of World Chess on the line. | Photo: FIDE

4/9/2018 – Last weekend the Belarus Chess Federation hosted the FIDE President meeting for the first quarter of 2018. The backdrop is the application of Belarus as host of the 2022 Chess Olympiad. In a blow to Kirsan Ilymzhinon, the Presidential Board called for his immediate resignation as president. After the meeting, Georgios Makropoulos announced his candidacy as FIDE president. | Photo: FIDE

2/22/2018 – The FIDE president, locked in a power struggle with former allies, pushed back on the recent letter from FIDE's treasurer Adrian Siegel in a public statement Wednesday, calling it "fake news". In this editorial, we take a brief look at Ilyumzhinov's response and what it portends. | Image: Ilyumzhinov's official Twitter account