Arkady Dvorkovich suspends presidential powers at FIDE following European Union sanctions
Lausanne, 26 July 2026. The president of the International Chess Federation, Arkady Dvorkovich, has voluntarily suspended all rights, duties and powers associated with the presidential office after the European Union placed him on its list of sanctioned persons as part of the 21st package of measures against Russia. The decision took effect immediately, and the FIDE Council accepted and formally ratified it. Dvorkovich did not resign and was not officially removed from office, but remains president in title while being unable to exercise the powers provided for by the organisation's statutory documents. His responsibilities have been assumed by the former deputy president, Viswanathan Anand, a former world champion and one of the most influential figures in modern chess. The change at the top of FIDE comes only two months before the electoral congress in Samarkand, meaning that the legal consequences of the sanctions are simultaneously raising an important question about the future leadership of the world chess organisation.
Dvorkovich announces legal battle but temporarily withdraws from management
In a statement published on 23 July on FIDE's official website, Dvorkovich described the European Union's decision as unlawful and unjust and announced that he would challenge it through all available legal means. He said that he believed he would prevail in the legal proceedings, but at the same time acknowledged that the sanctions, for as long as they remain in force, could hinder the stable functioning of the international federation. For that reason, as he explained, he decided to suspend the exercise of his presidential powers with immediate effect and for the entire period during which he remains subject to the restrictive measures of the European Union and Switzerland. His statement emphasised the intention to protect the continuity of FIDE's work, international competitions, administration and the organisation's social programmes. It is therefore a preventive management measure that does not prejudge the outcome of the announced legal appeal but, in practice, completely removes Dvorkovich from decision-making and from exercising presidential powers.
The FIDE Council subsequently ratified his decision and expressly determined that Dvorkovich would not exercise the responsibilities, duties, rights and privileges prescribed by Article 18 of the FIDE Charter and other regulations. The official resolution specifically states that he may not act as a person who owns, holds or controls FIDE or its assets. This wording is directly connected to the rules on asset freezes and the prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to sanctioned persons. Because the headquarters of the International Chess Federation are in Lausanne, the organisation must also take account of the Swiss sanctions regime, not only the regulations applicable within the European Union. FIDE therefore linked the suspension to the duration of the relevant measures under the Swiss ordinance concerning the situation in Ukraine and under European Union Regulation No 269/2014.
Why the European Union placed the FIDE president on its sanctions list
The Council of the European Union adopted the 21st package of sanctions on 23 July 2026 in response to the continuation of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. According to the Council's official announcement, the package contains 218 new individual listings, including 48 natural persons and 170 legal persons or other entities. The measures target Russia's financial and banking sector, energy, crypto-assets, the so-called shadow fleet, the military-industrial complex, drone production and actors whom the European Union associates with propaganda or other forms of support for Russia's war policy. Persons on the list are generally subject to an asset freeze, a prohibition on citizens and companies from the European Union directly or indirectly making funds available to them, and a ban on entry into and transit through the territory of Member States. These measures do not constitute a criminal conviction, but they create extensive financial, legal and travel restrictions that can have an immediate effect on international organisations connected to a sanctioned person.
The implementing regulation published in the Official Journal of the European Union refers to Dvorkovich's former senior positions in the Russian state administration. He served as an aide to Russian president Dmitry Medvedev from 2008 to 2012 and then as deputy prime minister of the Russian government from 2012 to 2018. In its statement of reasons, the European Union also points out that he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Chess Federation of Russia, which includes other individuals connected to Russian state structures or subject to sanctions. The activities of the Russian federation in areas of Ukraine under Russian occupation, including Crimea and parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, are cited as the key reason. According to the reasoning in the regulation, Dvorkovich has an important role in that body, leading the European Union to conclude that he supports actions or policies that threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, or the stability and security of that country.
Dvorkovich rejects that characterisation but has not yet published details of the legal strategy through which he will attempt to have his name removed from the list. FIDE structured the suspension so that it will remain in force until the sanctions are lifted, amended or annulled by a legal decision. It is currently unknown whether his status can change before the congress in September. Until then, all executive functions associated with the presidential position remain in the hands of the acting president.
Viswanathan Anand assumes interim leadership of the federation
FIDE based the transfer of powers to Viswanathan Anand on Article 19.2 of the Charter, under which the deputy president assumes presidential responsibilities when the president is unable to perform his function. Anand will serve as acting president for as long as Dvorkovich remains subject to the relevant restrictive measures, unless elections establish new leadership in the meantime. The Indian grandmaster was elected deputy president in 2022 on a joint electoral ticket with Dvorkovich. He enjoys exceptional authority in the chess world as the 15th world champion and a long-standing member of the highest competitive elite. His appointment therefore allows FIDE to ensure institutional continuity without an extraordinary procedure or an emergency election of a new president.
Anand's role, however, is not merely ceremonial. In the coming months, FIDE faces important competitive, financial and political issues, including preparations for the congress, implementation of Council decisions, relations with national federations and the sensitive debate concerning the status of Russian and Belarusian representatives. The acting president will have to ensure that the organisation's decisions are not legally connected to a person prohibited from controlling FIDE's assets or management. At the same time, he will have to maintain the confidence of federations that hold widely differing positions on the relationship between sport, international law and sanctions against Russia. In its announcement, FIDE states that the Council and administration can protect the uninterrupted operation of the organisation, its competitions and social programmes, thereby seeking to reduce the possibility of operational disruption.
The suspension is neither a resignation nor a confirmed withdrawal of candidacy
Dvorkovich's legal status differs from a conventional resignation. He formally retains the presidential title but has relinquished the exercise of all rights and powers arising from it. Such an arrangement allows him, if the sanctions are quickly lifted, to return to office without a new election or a separate appointment decision. On the other hand, the duration of the suspension has not been determined in advance and could extend until the end of the current term. It is therefore important to distinguish FIDE's official text from media interpretations claiming that Dvorkovich has definitively left the position or abandoned the political struggle within the federation.
Some specialised media outlets reported that, following the sanctions, Dvorkovich confirmed that he would not run for another term. However, FIDE's official statement of 23 July contains no such assertion, nor does it mention the withdrawal of an already submitted or announced candidacy. At the beginning of July, Dvorkovich publicly confirmed his intention to seek a third term and presented Timur Turlov as the candidate for deputy president on his ticket. Therefore, according to the information available on 26 July, it cannot be considered officially confirmed that he has withdrawn from the election. A definitive answer regarding his electoral status should become apparent from the documentation submitted to the FIDE Electoral Commission and from the official list of accepted candidacies.
This uncertainty is further highlighted by the deadlines in the electoral calendar. Forms for presidential tickets must be submitted by 26 July 2026 at 18:00 Central European Time. Each ticket must include a candidate for president and deputy president and have the support of at least five and no more than eight national federations, with at least one nomination from each of FIDE's four continents. Under the electoral rules, if a presidential candidate becomes unable to participate in the election, the candidate's ticket may not stand, while replacing the presidential candidate is not provided for in the same way as replacing other members of the ticket. Whether the sanctions will be interpreted as a legal or practical inability to stand as a candidate has not yet been officially clarified.
Elections in Samarkand gain new political and legal significance
The FIDE Congress will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 20 to 27 September, with the General Assembly session and elections scheduled for 26 and 27 September 2026. The General Assembly is the federation's highest body, and the president and deputy president are elected together on a single ticket by secret ballot of national member federations with voting rights. Dvorkovich has led FIDE since 2018, when he succeeded Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, and won a second term in 2022 with a decisive victory of 157 votes to 16 against Ukrainian grandmaster Andrii Baryshpolets. His announcement that he would seek a third term had already prompted debate before the sanctions about continuity of governance, political influence and FIDE's relationship with Russian institutions. The suspension of his powers now makes the electoral contest significantly more unpredictable.
The sanctions do not in themselves automatically mean that Dvorkovich is ineligible to stand under FIDE's internal rules. The electoral rules list as obstacles, for example, the final deprivation of civil rights or a definitive ban on holding office imposed in proceedings before FIDE's disciplinary or electoral bodies. Inclusion on an external sanctions list is not expressly stated as a separate ground of ineligibility. Nevertheless, the practical problem arises from the fact that an elected president would have to lead an organisation headquartered in Switzerland, manage its affairs and participate in financial relations, while the restrictive measures may prohibit precisely the control of funds and assets. The Electoral Commission, the Council and potentially other legal bodies will therefore have to clearly distinguish between the formal right to stand as a candidate and the actual ability to perform the duties of president.
The case also demonstrates the extent to which international sports organisations are exposed to the effects of sanctions regimes even when they are not themselves sanctioned. FIDE has members on almost every continent, organises world championships and other competitions in a large number of countries, and conducts business with banks, sponsors, organisers and national federations that must comply with different legal systems. When a sanctioned person heads such an organisation, the issue is not limited to that person's travel or private assets, but encompasses the signing of contracts, access to accounts, representation of the organisation and the adoption of decisions that may have financial consequences. FIDE's swift suspension of presidential powers is therefore an attempt to create a clear legal distance between the organisation and Dvorkovich until his status is resolved.
Broader context of the 21st package of European sanctions
Dvorkovich's case is only one part of a much broader package through which the European Union seeks to further restrict Russian revenues and capabilities connected to the war. The Council of the European Union states that the package expands transaction bans to additional Russian credit and financial institutions, introduces measures against banks in third countries accused of assisting in sanctions circumvention, and covers new platforms connected to crypto-assets. Additional measures concern Russia's shadow fleet, the drone supply chain, dual-use goods, oil refineries and entities outside Russia that, in the Union's assessment, facilitate the circumvention of export restrictions. The package also includes new individual sanctions against persons whom the Union connects to Russian military, economic or information structures. In this context, Dvorkovich's listing demonstrates that sanctions policy also extends to the international sports sector when European institutions assess that officials of sporting bodies play a role in supporting Moscow's policies.
FIDE now faces a period of management under Anand's interim leadership while simultaneously preparing for the elections. Dvorkovich will seek to challenge the European measures through legal proceedings, while the federation's electoral bodies will have to determine the status of his candidacy after the application deadline expires. Until the official list of candidates is published, it is not possible to state reliably whether his name will appear on the ballot in Samarkand. Likewise, it is impossible to assess in advance whether the legal challenge to the sanctions will result in a decision before the current term ends. What has been confirmed is that Dvorkovich has not managed FIDE since 23 July, that Anand has assumed all presidential responsibilities and that this arrangement will remain in force for as long as the relevant measures apply or until elections establish new leadership.
Sources:
- International Chess Federation – official statement by Arkady Dvorkovich and the FIDE Council's decision on the suspension of presidential powers and the appointment of Viswanathan Anand as acting president (link)
- Council of the European Union – official overview of the 21st package of sanctions, the number of new listings and key sectoral measures against Russia (link)
- EUR-Lex – Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1843 containing the legal basis and reasoning for listing Arkady Dvorkovich on the sanctions list (link)
- European Commission – explanation of the effects of sanctions against natural persons, including asset freezes, the prohibition on making funds available and travel restrictions (link)
- International Chess Federation – official announcement of the Congress, General Assembly and elections in Samarkand in September 2026 (link)
- FIDE Congress 2026 – official form and deadline for submitting a presidential ticket by 26 July 2026 at 18:00 CET (link)
- FIDE – official overview of the 2022 presidential election results and Dvorkovich's victory for a second term (link)
- Chess.com – report on Dvorkovich's confirmation of his candidacy for a third term and the selection of Timur Turlov as his candidate for deputy president (link)
- Inside the Games – media report stating that Dvorkovich would not seek another term, a claim not contained in FIDE's official announcement (link)