FIDE General Assembly – International Chess Federation

FIDE Council issues reminder on pre-election conduct

editor_d — Tue, 05 May 2026 17:00:49 +0000

The FIDE Council has issued a formal reminder regarding electoral regulations ahead of the 2026 General Assembly, which will take place at the end of September.

FIDE reminds all federations, officials, and potential candidates that the FIDE elections are set for 26 and 27 September 2026. According to FIDE rules, the official electoral period starts three months before the elections, which in this case would be 26 June 2026.

Candidates are reminded that they should not campaign or promote their candidacy before the official start of the electoral period. The Council notes that, according to the Electoral Rules, election campaigning is only allowed during the electoral period:

Electoral Rules Art. 7 Electoral campaign: 7.1 Electoral campaigning and promotion of candidatures are allowed only to the extent permitted under the Electoral Rules and during the electoral period. The electoral period starts three (3) months before elections. Promotion means any act or action that may enhance the level of awareness of a particular candidature. It includes advertising, campaigns or any organised or planned action for the election of a candidate. Electoral campaigning shall be understood as any activity undertaken by candidates or those acting or working for them with the aim of canvassing votes.

The Council also highlighted rules regarding undue advantage, such as providing money, services, gifts, jobs, debt forgiveness, tickets, hospitality, or similar.

Article 9 clearly outlines sanctioned behaviours:

9.1 Offering, either directly or through an accomplice, any undue advantage to a Member Federation, which is any ascertainable enhancement in the beneficiary’s situation, legal or economical, is a prohibited practice. An undue advantage shall mean anything of more than nominal value in any form, including in particular but not limited to a payment, a benefit in kind, money, property, a service, a loan, forbearance or forgiveness of indebtedness, promise of future, employment or promotion, a favour, gratuity, honoraria, tickets or passes to an entertainment, social or sporting event, without consideration of equal or greater value in return. Advantages are not undue if they are of minor value in conformity with social customs. Thus, the following are excluded from the definition of undue advantage: complimentary attendance, including food and beverage, at charitable or campaign events, complimentary attendance, food and beverage offered by the sponsor of a widely attended event, awards, plaques, and other ceremonial items customarily presented in recognition of service in chess or within FIDE, promotional items having no substantial resale value, gifts from a family or household member, food and/or beverage of limited value, chess materials distributed freely to all Member Federations and to the members of their delegations.

Article 9.9 notes that Candidates should refrain from campaigning before the official electoral period starts, in full respect of the Electoral Rules. Certain customary items of nominal value, such as limited hospitality or low-value promotional materials, may be permissible under the Electoral Rules.

FIDE Electoral Rules and the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Code provide for substantial penalties for violations of the aforementioned rules.

FIDE will monitor compliance with these regulations under the Ethics and Disciplinary Code. Violations may result in immediate proceedings before the FIDE Ethics and Electoral Commissions.

The Council noted that these rules are in place to ensure a fair and transparent election process for all member federations.

2025 FIDE General Assembly and 4th FIDE Council Meeting: Key decisions

editor_d — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 09:59:12 +0000

The fourth FIDE Council Meeting of 2025 and the 2025 FIDE General Assembly took place online on December 11 and December 14, respectively. These meetings addressed a range of significant topics, including membership matters, budget and audit issues, electoral rules, the FIDE calendar, and more.

New Member Federations

The FIDE General Assembly approved the admission of three new Member Federations:

Guinea Chess Federation
Marshall Islands Chess Federation
Kiribati Chess Federation

These federations are now officially part of FIDE, further expanding the global reach of the organization.

Re-establishment of the FIDE Chess Oscar Award

The FIDE Assembly approved the re-establishment of the FIDE Chess Oscar Award, which will be presented annually to recognize exceptional achievements in the world of chess. The awards will honor Best Male Chess Player of the Year, Best Female Chess Player of the Year, Best Tournament of the Year, Best Federation of the Year, and more.

The reintroduction of this prestigious award reflects FIDE’s commitment to celebrating the outstanding contributions and achievements in the chess community.

Decisions regarding the limitations on the Russian and Belarussian Chess federations

The FIDE General Assembly approved two resolutions regarding this matter. For more details on this decision, see the official FIDE release: fide.com/fide-general-assembly-decisions-regarding-russia-and-belarus/

Threat to Mexican Chess Federation Membership

The FIDE Council has placed the Mexican Chess Federation under serious scrutiny, warning that failure to meet debt repayment deadlines could result in its suspension from FIDE. Mexico’s membership is at risk after two previous deadlines (November 2024 and July 2025) were violated, despite the federation submitting letters of guarantee. The FIDE Council’s decision outlines that if the Mexican Chess Federation fails to meet any of the upcoming repayment deadlines — January 31, 2026, March 31, 2026, and May 31, 2026 — its membership will be automatically suspended. This would prevent Mexico from hosting FIDE tournaments and delegating teams to FIDE and CCA events.

For further details, you can check out the full lists of decisions:

4th FIDE Council Meeting, 11 December 2025 – List of Decisions (PDF)

FIDE General Assembly, 14 December 2025 – List of Decisions (PDF)

FIDE General Assembly – Voting Report (PDF)

Voting Responses – Grid View (PDF)

FIDE General Assembly decisions regarding Russia and Belarus

editor_d — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 21:05:42 +0000

FIDE General Assembly mandates the return of all teams and fully restores the rights of youth players in line with IOC recommendations; FIDE Council to finalise protocols for adult teams following IOC consultation.

During the FIDE General Assembly held online on 14 December, national delegates voted on two separate resolutions regarding the status of Russian and Belarusian chess players. The first resolution was filed by the Russian Chess Federation, while the second resolution was proposed by the FIDE Council.

Both resolutions referenced recent decisions and recommendations by the International Olympic Committee regarding players from Russia and Belarus. The FIDE Council resolution also referenced the recent Olympic Summit decision, based on the IOC EB recommendation, noting that “youth athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport should no longer be restricted in their access to international youth competitions, in both individual and team sports… In addition, the standard protocols of the IF or the International Sports Event Organiser regarding flags, anthems, uniforms and other elements should apply, provided that the national sports organisation concerned is in good standing. The above principles should apply to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and are recommended for adoption by all IFs and International Sports Event Organisers for their own youth events.” (see: Olympic Summit reaffirms athletes’ fundamental rights to access sport without political interference).

In a procedural outcome, reflecting the diversity of views within the chess community, the General Assembly voted to adopt both the resolution proposed by the Chess Federation of Russia (61 votes in favour, 51 against, 14 abstentions and 15 delegates not voting) and the resolution proposed by the FIDE Council (69 votes in favour, 40 against, 15 abstentions and 17 delegates not voting).

Following the results, delegates raised questions regarding the procedural interaction between the two adopted texts and their immediate application.

Addressing these points, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich acknowledged that both decisions garnered the necessary majority and are valid expressions of the Assembly’s will.

Consequently, the FIDE Council will proceed immediately with the points of consensus found in both resolutions, in accordance with IOC recommendations and the most recent guidance from the Olympic Summit on access to sport and political neutrality.

The resolutions differ on the technical protocols regarding the use of national symbols (flags and anthems) in adult team competitions.

The proposal from the Russian Chess Federation calls for the immediate restoration of national symbols.
The proposal from the FIDE Council mandates the use of national symbols in youth and junior events, but currently requires neutral symbols for adult events, subject to further IOC consultation.

To respect the legal validity of both votes, the FIDE Council considers the Council resolution to be in force immediately as the baseline for operations. This means that:

Teams from Russia and Belarus are admitted to official FIDE tournaments.
Full use of national symbols is allowed in youth and junior competitions, in line with IOC recommendations.
Restrictions on holding official FIDE events in Belarus are lifted, in line with recent guidance from the Olympic Summit on access to sport and political neutrality.

Regarding the specific divergence on symbols in adult events, the Council will execute the mandate included in the Council resolution to consult with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The Council will make a final determination on the use of flags and anthems in adult team events following these consultations to ensure alignment with international sports standards and the IOC.