Buettner, Turlov Clash Over Funding In FIDE Presidential Debate

FIDE presidential candidates Jan Henric Buettner and Timur Turlov clashed over how the world chess body should be funded—and whether it should continue relying on wealthy benefactors. The third candidate, Wadim Rosenstein, disconnected shortly after his opening statement and did not return.

The Chess. com-hosted debate, moderated by GM Maurice Ashley on Wednesday, came just 17 days before FIDE’s presidential election in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. With Rosenstein absent, Buettner argued for a more commercial, self-sustaining organization, while Turlov defended his role as FIDE’s “financial backstop” and said immediate investment was needed to drive growth.

The two also differed on FIDE’s role in online chess, anti-cheating, and school programs, but found common ground in preserving traditional classical chess while expanding faster formats.

The candidates had not received the questions in advance. You can watch the full debate, which lasted nearly 90 minutes, below: 

Rosenstein, who is running alongside businessman Gordon Tang, was the first candidate to deliver his opening statement. However, immediately after doing so, Rosenstein disconnected. Chess.com’s team contacted him to rejoin, but the 35-year-old German did not respond or provide any explanation for his departure.

Before his departure, Rosenstein referred to the increasingly bitter campaign, which he said was being presented as a contest “between two candidates,” as well as recent decisions by FIDE’s Electoral Commission.

“Today, this election is presented as a contest between two candidates,” he said. “I will not join personal disputes or turn the FIDE election into a political or financial show.”

Today, this election is presented as a contest between two candidates.
—Wadim Rosenstein

In his closing comment, Rosenstein said he would be accountable to all chess federations and that he would be available 24/7. “I will be there for all of you,” he said before disconnecting.

How Should FIDE Be Financed?

With Rosenstein absent, Buettner and Turlov were left in the two-person debate.

Buettner, the co-founder of Freestyle Chess who is running with IM Malcolm Pein, said in his opening statement that FIDE must end what he called a decades-old system of dependence on wealthy presidents and their financial support.

“My mission is to make FIDE cooperate with everybody and depend on nobody, especially not on its president,” he said.

One of Buettner’s biggest pledges is to bring $50 million in new commercial revenue into chess over four years and distribute 20 percent of FIDE’s revenue, excluding prize funds, to national federations.

He said he raised $27.5 million for the Freestyle Chess tour, and that it was evidence that major commercial investment could be attracted to chess.

“We are not selecting a new king or somebody who takes responsibility and maybe finances stuff out of his own pocket if the sponsors are not coming,” Buettner said.

We are not selecting a new king or somebody who takes responsibility and maybe finances stuff out of his own pocket if the sponsors are not coming.
—Jan Henric Buettner

He characterized FIDE’s 2025 finances as “a disaster,” claiming that its revenue from sponsorship, intellectual-property rights, and brands was zero.

Buettner also questioned a reported loss of approximately €500,000 from currency movements and said around €600,000 allocated to development had not been used.

Jan Henric Buettner: “A good president should make FIDE less dependent on the president that is running it”https://t.co/pjuZb8MBxM pic.twitter.com/vgexmih3YY

— chess24 (@chess24com) September 9, 2026

Turlov rejected the criticism and described himself as FIDE’s “main financial backstop” over the last three years through his Nasdaq-listed company, Freedom Holding.

The Russian-born Kazakh billionaire said he also wanted to diversify FIDE’s income through intellectual-property rights, international sponsors, and partnerships with major technology companies. However, he argued that outside investment could not be guaranteed immediately and that FIDE needed firm financial commitments to plan its development work.

“Great governance is necessary, but not enough to make a federation successful,” Turlov said. “Sometimes someone needs to help push things forward. That’s why I’m offering a backstop.”

Turlov proposed increasing FIDE’s development fund to more than $6 million. He said it would support tournaments, arbiter and coach training, travel for players, federation staff, and marketing and communications programs.

Buettner responded by comparing Turlov’s proposal with the idea of a FIFA or Formula One president personally financing the organization.

“The election is mostly about whether we want to keep the same patronage system as before, or whether we want to have a new system where we make FIDE independent from the individual interests of single persons,” he said.

Jan Henric Buettner says he aims to attract big sponsors and that it’s not sufficient to have one person providing a financial “backstop” (as Timur Turlov says he has for FIDE in the last few years), but Turlov responds that “sometimes someone needs to help to push things… pic.twitter.com/tPQkKhT5t7

— chess24 (@chess24com) September 9, 2026

Turlov agreed that long-term dependence on him would not be desirable but questioned whether Buettner’s alternative could immediately work in practice.

“That sounds great, but frankly, with my experience, I just don’t have a big understanding of how that might work in real life,” he said. “I truly want to make FIDE sustainable and not dependent on me for a long period of time.”

I truly want to make FIDE sustainable and not dependent on me for a long period of time.
—Timur Turlov

Should FIDE Become More Commercial?

Another disagreement came when Ashley asked what role FIDE should play in online chess and whether it should compete with commercial platforms.

Turlov described FIDE primarily as a regulator and nonprofit organization. He said it should be capable of organizing online tournaments and establishing standards for online and over-the-board chess, but should cooperate with existing platforms rather than compete directly against them.

“I truly believe that nonprofit organizations and regulators should not be directly engaged in business,” he said. “That never means that we don’t have to make money. We have to make money to be sustainable.”

Buettner said he “definitely” disagreed. “FIDE has to be more commercial than before,” he said, arguing that it needed to commercialize its leading events and players in the same way other sports use their stars as brand ambassadors.

Turlov maintained that FIDE could increase revenue without becoming a direct commercial operator. He said his administration would seek new sponsors while helping national federations attract support from governments and private companies.

Buettner Questions Turlov’s School Chess Events

The sharpest direct attack came during a discussion about chess in schools and opportunities for young players.

Buettner argued that developing federations generally suffered from a lack of opportunity rather than talent. He said predictable funding would allow them to organize local rated tournaments, train arbiters and coaches, create pathways for juniors, and reduce the need for expensive international travel.

He then questioned the International School Chess Federation’s recent event in Cape Town, South Africa. Turlov is the organization’s president.

Buettner, who primarily lives in South Africa and attended the event, claimed that 23 people had been flown in from Russia and Kazakhstan to organize the tournament that included 91 unrated players.

“The question really was whether it was for the kids or whether it was for other purposes,” Buettner said.

He contrasted the event with the experience of the Panama Chess Federation, whose president, according to Buettner, had repeatedly completed lengthy applications before receiving just $100 from FIDE for a children’s tournament.

Buettner said the examples demonstrated why funding should be allocated according to transparent rules rather than at the discretion of FIDE’s leadership.

On supporting grass roots chess in less rich federations:

Buettner: “They do not have a talent problem, they have an opportunity problem.”

Turlov: “That’s why we designed the International Schools Chess Federation.” https://t.co/pjuZb8MBxM pic.twitter.com/ixWKtgRaNS

— chess24 (@chess24com) September 9, 2026

Turlov defended the International School Chess Federation’s work, pointing to events in Washington, Cape Town, Armenia, and Almaty, as well as its Smart Move Summit for officials and education ministers.

He said the events had both provided opportunities for children and encouraged governments to introduce chess in schools. “I’m sure that we do that in a very efficient way,” he said.

Turlov also cited Kazakhstan’s school chess program, saying it had been introduced in more than 1,500 schools, with another 1,000 to follow this year.

“It’s great to have 20 percent of some future money,” he said in reference to Buettner’s revenue-sharing plan, “but sometimes we need real money today to move forward.”

Biometric ID And Greater Due Process

The candidates also shared their approaches to combating cheating in chess, whether online or over the board.

Turlov proposed introducing a biometric identification system using face recognition to ensure that each player could operate only one verified account, similar to identity checks used by banks in Kazakhstan.

Timur Turlov suggests using facial recognition to ensure the identity of players competing onlinehttps://t.co/pjuZb8MBxM pic.twitter.com/SpGwSyMt3m

— chess24 (@chess24com) September 9, 2026

He also called for investment in anti-cheating technology that could be made available to national federations, while acknowledging that no security system would ever be completely effective.

Buettner focused on due process, warning that powerful detection tools could create a second integrity problem if players did not know how decisions were reached or how to challenge them.

“Online detection tools are powerful, but no algorithm should become a secret court,” he said.

He said players in official competitions should know in advance what evidence could be used, who would make decisions, and how they could respond or appeal. He also called for greater investment in prevention, venue security, education, technology, and trained arbiters.

Agreement On Faster Time Controls

The two seemed mostly aligned on faster time controls in chess.

Buettner said the classical world championship should remain “the pinnacle of the sport” and retain its traditional long time control. He nevertheless supported experimenting with rapid, blitz, fast classical, Chess960, and team formats elsewhere, in consultation with leading players.

Turlov agreed that FIDE should preserve traditional classical chess while recognizing that the sport was becoming faster.

“Everything is getting faster, whether we want that or not,” he said. “The introduction of fast classical, I think, is beneficial for chess players.”

Both agreed that future changes should be made in consultation with the leading players.

“Maybe Two Campaigns Right Now”

In his closing statement, Turlov said his experience, resources, and record showed that he could execute his program.

He pledged to leave FIDE “more powerful, much more independent, much wealthier,” while preserving the achievements of the current administration and making the organization more digital, modern, open, and professional.

The First Ever FIDE Presidential Debate is over!

Thank you, @JanHBuettner, for a meaningful conversation! Thank you, @WadimRosenstein, for granting us more time to speak!

Watch full video here: https://t.co/LOGkvKJYHZ pic.twitter.com/YkNeHh8ci0

— Timur Turlov (@TurlovforChess) September 9, 2026

Buettner began his final statement with a reference to the absent third candidate. “Wadim dropped out of the race—maybe completely, I don’t know,” he said with a laugh. “It’s very interesting that he disappeared from this debate.”

Buettner said he did not need a title, salary, business advantage, or political influence from FIDE. He promised that federations would receive equal treatment regardless of whether they supported him.

“After September 26, there should no longer be three campaigns—or maybe two campaigns right now,” he joked. “There should be only one FIDE.”

The race was drastically changed in July when Arkady Dvorkovich suspended the exercise of his powers as FIDE President after being sanctioned by the European Union. Anand took over the presidential duties on an interim basis, while Turlov—originally announced as Dvorkovich’s candidate for Deputy President—launched his own presidential bid with Anand as his running mate.

The election will take place at the FIDE General Assembly in Samarkand on September 26. Each member federation represented at the assembly receives one vote, with the winning President and Deputy President elected together for a four-year term ending in 2030.