Timur Turlov’s Plans For The Game
Retold by Oddsrama · 14 October 2026
Timur Turlov's vision for global chess is taking shape. The newly elected FIDE President won his seat in September 2026 with 110 votes out of 191, and he's already moving fast on his agenda: expanding youth chess worldwide, building digital infrastructure, and using technology to democratize the game. His latest milestone came with the conclusion of the 2026 World Schools Team Championship's European stage in Armenia, where Gymnasium No. 50 from Minsk claimed gold, Riga's State Gymnasium No. 1 took silver, and Kutaisi's Andria Razmadze school earned bronze. These continental champions—representing Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas—will now converge for a Grand Final in December.
Turlov's chess journey began in Kazakhstan, where he became the Chess Federation president in early 2023 and quickly scaled programs to reach over 60,000 students across 1,500 schools by mid-2026. He launched the International School Chess Federation in September 2024 with FIDE backing, turning it into a pipeline for young talent. The 2025 World Schools event drew 55 teams from 47 countries; this year's format—four continental stages feeding into one finale—has made the championship accessible to far more schools than ever before. For bettors tracking emerging chess talent pools and sponsorship trends, this expansion matters: younger, broader competition creates unpredictability and fresh storylines.
But Turlov's real play is digital transformation. He's injected roughly €5 million into ChessBase, Freedom Holding's newly acquired chess software company, with plans to weave it into the Freedom SuperApp alongside banking and investment tools. His presidential manifesto calls for a unified digital platform that would let smaller federations organize tournaments, manage players, and run online events without heavy IT costs. Anti-cheating measures, better data protection, and transparency are built into the pitch. If executed well, this could shake up how chess federations operate globally—and open fresh betting markets around online tournaments and international fixtures. The December Grand Final will be Turlov's first major test in his new role.
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