Turlov Asks FIDE to Remove Candidate Wadim Rosenstein From the Ballot Over Sponsorship Deal With the German Chess Federation

Three weeks before the FIDE presidential election, candidate Timur Turlov filed a complaint asking the Electoral Commission to remove rival candidate Wadim Rosenstein from the ballot and suspend the German Chess Federation's voting rights. The complaint alleges that Rosenstein's company WR Events signed a major sponsorship deal with the German Chess Federation in August 2026, after being appointed as the federation's FIDE Delegate and nominated for president, violating FIDE's electoral rules that prohibit giving anything of value to voting federations during campaigns.