" You need to know Russian to understand the context better - it was taken out of context. Of course, @GMHikaru is a great player - he has a much more succesful career than me" - Dennis Lazavik on his comments about Hikaru Nakamura.

When you vote for the wrong candidate.

The international governing body of chess is in the process of choosing a new leader, as its president suspended his duties after being placed on a European Union sanctions list. Julien Pretot has more reut.rs/4xxjpei

Putin casts online vote in Russia’s State Duma elections.

Another busy day at our pavilion in Samarkand. Meetings, conversations, ideas and plenty of chess. A few moments from today. 📷 #turlovforchess

Thank you to the Barbados Chess Federation and its President, Allan Herbert, for supporting our ticket. Barbados may be a small island nation, but it has a deep and active chess culture. Both its Open and Women’s teams are now competing at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, with experienced players and titled representatives in both squads. The federation is also doing important work at the grassroots level. Barbados runs national championships, school team events and qualification tournaments, while school chess continues to grow. In 2025, the Primary Interschool Team Championship brought together 20 teams from 14 schools, and the federation is working with the Ministry of Education on a broader Chess in Education programme. For me, Barbados is a good example of a small country with a strong structure. It has experienced officials, titled players, youth pathways and a real school-chess base. The next step is to strengthen the route from schools to elite chess, give juniors more international opportunities and, one day, help Barbados produce its first Grandmaster. Thank you, Allan, for your trust and support. I look forward to working together on the next stage of Barbados chess development. #TurlovforChess

This is quite a surprising development! @ECUonline President Zurab Azmaiparashvili has chosen sides, and is supporting Vadim Rosenstein for FIDE President!

❗️FIDE Statement on Accommodation Issues at the 2026 Chess Olympiad❗️ FIDE notes with deep regret that, during the first day of the 2026 FIDE Chess Olympiad, shortcomings in the accommodation arrangements left some teams without proper accommodation, forcing them to rent rooms in the city at their own expense. Although accommodation matters fall within the remit of the local Organizing Committee, and FIDE has no authority in this regard, FIDE nevertheless considers it its duty to assist the federations affected by this situation. Accordginly, FIDE has found additional financial resources and officially confirms that all teams which had to secure their own rooms will be reimbursed for the cost of accommodation of the appropriate standard, for a period of up to three days. In addition, all teams that are forced to stay in official hotels that do not meet FIDE-approved standards during the Olympiad shall receive an additional compensatory payment from FIDE. FIDE deeply regrets that these organizational problems occurred and apologizes to the affected federations and teams. While the shortcomings arose at the level of the Organizing Committee, FIDE's priority is to ensure that no federation suffers financial losses as a result. Our fundamental objective remains clear: every participating federation must be treated fairly and provided with the conditions established for the Chess Olympiad.