Key Decisions from the 2024 FIDE General Assembly
On 21/22 September, FIDE conducted its General Assembly meeting in Budapest. The meeting, broadcast live and open to the public, saw votes on new members for the Constitutional Commission, Ethics and Disciplinary Commission, and Verification Commission, alongside decisions on proposals from member federations The General Assembly began with FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich presenting a report on the work of his team. Dvorkovich highlighted that, since the previous General Assembly in 2023, FIDE’s focus had been on three main pillars: the organization and enhancement of top-level events; social activities, including the celebration of FIDE’s centenary; and administrative support for federations and FIDE operations. He emphasized the successful execution of all FIDE events during this period, adding that “95% of events for next year have already been determined,” covering everything from the event programs to logistics, including organization and accommodation. FIDE Treasurer Zhu Chen reported that in 2023, the organization achieved the largest revenue ever and had a stable financial situation. However, a decline in sponsorship revenue was flagged as a concern. This issue was echoed in the report by the head of the Verification Commission, Allen Priest, who called on FIDE to pursue alternative revenue streams to compensate for declined sponsorship. Overall, in 2023, FIDE had a net income of 1,044,592 euros and, at the end of the year, had 6.9 million euros in bank accounts. A detailed breakdown of FIDE’s financial situation is available in the Audit Report by Ernst & Young and the Verification Commission’s Report. The elections for three FIDE Commissions In accordance with the FIDE Charter and the FIDE Electoral Rules, the elections of the Chairpersons and members of the Verification Commission, Ethics and Disciplinary Commission and Constitutional Commission took place at the FIDE General Assembly on September 21/22, in Budapest, Hungary. On the first day of the General Assembly, due to technical issues with the electronic voting system, which is managed by an independent Hungarian company, chosen and hired by the local organizers, FIDE switched to the traditional ballot box method. Although all pre-event tests, including one at the start of the General Assembly, had been successfully completed, an issue arose during the main vote, prompting FIDE to adjust the election process. Constitutional Commission Roberto Rivello (Italy) was re-elected as Chairman of the Constitutional Commission, running unopposed. In line with FIDE tradition, as there were no objections, Rivello’s re-election was confirmed by applause. For the position of the FIDE Constitutional Commission members (four places), the following were elected based on the votes of 161 delegates who took part in the voting. The results, in order of votes received, were: Erald Dervishi (Albania) – 78 votes; Ian Wilkinson (Jamaica) – 75 votes; Marouane Tabti (Algeria) –74 votes Jorge Arias Bouzada (Uruguay) –73 votes Ivy Claire Amoko (Uganda) –70 votes Yanori Morera Campos (Costa Rica) –60 votes To assure gender balance inside FIDE elected Commissions, FIDE regulations force that both genders must be represented among elected members of these Commissions, meaning that “if all the most voted candidates are of the same gender, the less voted of them will not be elected, and the most voted candidate of the other gender will be elected” (art. 24.10. of the FIDE Electoral Rules). Based on this provision, Ivy Claire Amoko from Uganda was elected as the fourth member instead of Jorge Arias Bouzada from Uruguay. Verification Commission In the elections for the Chairman of the Verification Commission Allen Priest (USA) was elected as the only candidate. In the elections for the members of the Verification Commission (four places), 161 delegates voted and the results were: Gulmira Dauletova (Kazakhstan) – 85 votesEric Bopala (Canada) –77 votesMalcolm Powell (Cayman Islands) – 76 votesPanu Laine (Finland) –68 votesAlexander von Gleich (Germany) –60 votesRajai Al Susi (Palestine) – 58 votesKen Koort (Estonia) – 49 votes Ethics and Disciplinary Commission In the election for Chairman of the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission, Yolander Persaud of Guyana won after the second round. In the first round of the election for FIDE EDC chairman, Yolander Persaud (Guyana) had 77 votes, while Daniel Florea (Romania) got 59 votes. Babur Tolbaev (Kyrgyzstan) was eliminated after coming in third (with 27 votes). In the second round, of the 161 delegates who voted, the results were: Yolander Persaud (Guyana) – 86 votesDaniel Florea (Romania) – 75 votes Next, the election for the six members of the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission took place. Following the rule 24.4. which states that “a defeated candidate for a position of chairman may accept nominations for the position of member of the same commission, submitting his or her candidacy before the beginning of the procedures for these elections,” Babur Tolbaev placed forward his candidacy as a member of the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission. Altogether, 150 delegates voted with one abstention, with eight candidates running. The results were as follows: Khaled Arfa (Tunisia) – 103 votesDavid Hater (USA) – 95 votesOlga Baskakova (Kazakhstan) – 79 votesRavindra Dongre (India) –79 votesAlan Borda (Bolivia) –78 votesAli Nihat Yazici (Turkey) – 73 votesYanori Morera Campos (Costa Rica) –56 votesBabur Tolbaev (Kyrgyzstan) – 48 votes Other notable decisions FIDE also voted to support the proposal from Kazakhstan’s chess federation president, Timur Turlov, to make The International School Chess Federation (ISCF) FIDE’s Affiliated organization. In his speech to the General Assembly, Timur Turlov explained that the mission of the ISCF would be to unite national school chess associations and support the global integration of chess into school curricula. Additionally, FIDE approved the formation of the Turkic-speaking Countries’ Chess Association as an affiliated organization. The application, presented by Azerbaijan and supported by several Turkophone states, seeks to develop chess in nations with shared linguistic and cultural ties. Gunnar Bjornsson, president of the Icelandic Chess Federation, presented the application from the Greenlandic Chess Federation, which applied to become an Affiliated Member of FIDE. “Chess, while very new in its organized form, has a surprisingly long connection to Greenland. The famous Lewis chessmen, a collection of medieval chess pieces, have been definitively proven to be crafted from
Triumphant moments: Celebrating the winners of 45th Chess Olympiad
The Closing Ceremony of the 45th Chess Olympiad was held at the BOK Sports and Conference Centre, the event’s main venue. The stage was set, transforming the tournament’s playing hall into a celebratory space. Before the ceremony began, players, officials, and guests took their seats while the final press conference was held in the Olympiad’s press center. Members of the victorious Indian teams participated, including Srinath Narayanan, Captain of the Indian Open Team; Gukesh D, Board One of the Indian Open Team; Arjun Erigaisi, Board Three of the Indian Open Team; Abhijit Kunte, Captain of the Women’s Team; Harika Dronavalli, Board One of the Indian Women’s Team; and Divya Deshmukh, Board Three of the Indian Women’s Team. The atmosphere was light-hearted, with players shedding the seriousness and pressure of the tournament and all smiling. Gukesh D: “It was a very nice experience for me personally and for the team. I am super happy with how I played and how we performed together as a team. Right now, I feel a bit tired since the adrenaline is out, but I am super happy with how things went. This was a dream.” Divya Deshmukh: “It started off quite well, but in the middle, we had a few setbacks. I am really proud of how we handled it. We fought back with resilience, and finally, we are here with the gold medal. I am overwhelmed with emotions.” Harika Dronavalli: “For me, it is much more emotional than for the others. I’ve been playing for 20 years to see a gold medal, and I am glad that finally, I see India on top of the podium. I am happy and proud of the girls. The youngsters came up on the team, and they did extremely well.” At the conclusion of the press conference, the participants moved to the award ceremony hall together with the journalists. Welcome speeches were delivered by Zoltán Polyánszky, President of the Hungarian Chess Federation, and Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President. Arkady Dvorkovich said: “Over the past two weeks, we’ve witnessed history being made here in Budapest. From all corners of the globe, top players, living legends, and future champions have competed for the most prestigious team title in our sport – the title of Chess Olympiad Champions. Among the nearly 200 nations that participated, one country stood a step ahead of the rest. I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to India for their remarkable achievement of winning Olympic gold in both the Open and Women’s competitions!” The FIDE President thanked the teams and their captains, the Hungarian Chess Federation, the local organizing team, the FIDE team, the arbiters, fair play officers, the appeals commission, the broadcast teams, and every single person who worked behind the scenes to ensure that both the Olympiad and the General Assembly ran smoothly. And with that, the Chief Arbiter Ivan Syrovy and Deputy Chief Arbiter Sabrina de San Bicente entered the stage, and the award ceremony started. This Olympiad became the biggest in history, with 188 teams in the Open and 169 teams in the women’s section. Not all of them contested for the highest places, but to mark their achievements, special prizes in rating categories were awarded. Tshepiso Lopang, President of the African Chess Confederation, and Jose Antonio Carrillo, President of the Confederation of Chess for Americas, were invited to the stage to award the prize-winning teams in categories E, D, and C. Timur Turlov, President of Kazakhstan Chess Federation, awarded the teams in categories B and A. Open, Group A: China, Serbia, ArmeniaWomen, Group A: Spain, Armenia, GeorgiaOpen, Group B: Turkmenistan, Latvia, KazakhstanWomen, Group B: Philippines, Montenegro, LatviaOpen, Group C: Ecuador, Zimbabwe, TajikistanWomen, Group C: Turkmenistan, Malaysia, Sri LankaOpen, Group D: Sri Lanka, Liechtenstein, PakistanWomen, Group D: Hong Kong, China; Thailand, MozambiqueOpen, Group E: Myanmar, Qatar, EswatiniWomen, Group E: Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Netherlands Antilles A dance performance combining Hungarian folk dance heritage and youthful energy marked the transition to the next part of the closing ceremony. The Chess Olympiad is a vibrant mosaic of styles, colors, and designs, and it has become a tradition to choose the best chess uniforms worn by the teams. The special jury had a tough job selecting the winners, and here are the awardees: Women’s section, best classic team uniform: CAYMAN ISLANDS Open section, best classic team uniform: ESWATINI Women’s section, best sport team uniform: BARBADOS Open section, best sport team uniform: ST. LUCIA Women’s section, best original team uniform: ETHIOPIA Open section, best original team uniform: VANUATU The awards were given by Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board. The ceremony continued with a captivating performance by Juga, a Chilean singer and songwriter renowned for her chess-inspired songs and videos. She sang “Colorblind,” an ode to chess, and later delighted the audience with one of her most popular pieces, “Oh, Capablanca.” The Chess Olympiad is a team event, but the best individual performances are also highly valued and awarded with medals. Let’s celebrate all the winners, the best players on their boards who were the driving forces of their teams! Open – Board 1: Gold: Gukesh D, IndiaSilver: Nodirbek Abdusattorov, UzbekistanBronze: Magnus Carlsen, Norway Women – Board 1: Gold: Zhu Jiner, ChinaSilver: Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, SpainBronze: Nana Dzagnidze, Georgia Open – Board 2: Gold: Nguyen Thai Dai Van, Czech RepublicSilver: Toni Lazov, North MacedoniaBronze: Ediz Gurel, Turkiye Women – Board 2: Gold: Carissa Yip, USASilver: Elisabeth Paehtz, GermanyBronze: Song Yuxin, China Open – Board 3: Gold: Arjun Erigaisi, IndiaSilver: Yu Yangyi, ChinaBronze: Le Tuan Minh, Vietnam Women – Board 3: Gold: Divya Deshmukh, IndiaSilver: Sabrina Vega Gutierrez, SpainBronze: Elina Danielian, Armenia Open – Board 4: Gold: Shamsiddin Vokhidov, UzbekistanSilver: Levon Aronian, USABronze: Alan Pichot, Spain Women – Board 4: Gold: Vantika Agrawal, IndiaSilver: Alice Lee, USABronze: Anna M. Sargsyan, Armenia Open – Reserve Board: Gold: Frederik Svane, GermanySilver: Benjamin Gledura, HungaryBronze: Velimir Ivic, Serbia Women – Reserve Board: Gold: Dana Kochavi, IsraelSilver: Nodira Nadirjanova, UzbekistanBronze: Lu Miaoyi, China Former world champions, grandmasters Zhu Chen and Xie Jun, awarded the winners on the reserve board and board four. Hungarian chess legends Sofia and Susan Polgar presented the