Players express displeasure after FIDE removed prez term limits

FIDE's current president, Arkady Dvorkovich, was given the green light to seek a third term in 2026.

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

FIDE’s current president, Arkady Dvorkovich, was given the green light to seek a third term in 2026. Dvorkovich, a former Russian politician (he had served as a deputy prime minister), had ironically run on the promise of bringing term limits to a maximum of two blocks of four years each. In the body’s general assembly late on Sunday night, the motion to remove Article 18.12 from the FIDE Charter (the clause that restricts presidents to two terms) was cleared by an overwhelming majority of 108-27. Chess.com said that the motion was proposed by Andorra before it was seconded by as many as 20 federations. Article 18.12 had stated: “A person cannot serve as FIDE president for more than two terms of four years. Terms may be consecutive or nonconsecutive.”