International Chess Federation (FIDE) presidential candidate Wadim Rosenstein said he would work to bring Magnus Carlsen back into the classical world championship cycle if elected, while promising governance reforms, greater transparency and tougher conflict-of-interest rules.
The Sept. 26 election will shape the future direction of a federation facing questions over governance, Russia’s role in chess and how to balance the sport’s classical traditions with the growing popularity and commercial appeal of freestyle, rapid, blitz and online formats.
Rosenstein said the classical world championship should remain chess’ premier title despite the rise of alternative formats.
The election will be held during FIDE’s General Assembly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where Rosenstein will face German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner and Kazakh businessman Timur Turlov.
The race took shape after longtime FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich stepped aside following his inclusion on the European Union’s sanctions list.
"Among all the presidential candidates, I think I have the best relations with Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura,” Rosenstein, a German entrepreneur and chess promoter, told Reuters in an interview.
Norway’s Carlsen, a five-time world champion, is the world’s top-ranked classical player, while American Nakamura is ranked second.
"I would love to bring them back into classical competition and I hope I will succeed.”
Carlsen announced in 2022 that he would not defend his world title in 2023 and has not returned to the world championship cycle, increasingly focusing on other formats while continuing to play selected classical events.
His decision helped fuel a wider debate over how chess should balance its traditional format with changing commercial interests and audience habits.
Rosenstein said the classical crown should remain at the center of the sport.
"We need to communicate to the world that the most important title is the classical world championship,” he said. "We need to respect our traditions.”
He said any review of the championship structure would require consultation with sponsors and national federations to ensure commercial considerations did not diminish the prestige of the title.
Russia, Belarus and neutrality
Rosenstein said FIDE should continue to follow Court of Arbitration for Sport rulings concerning Russia and Belarus.
FIDE temporarily suspended the Russian Chess Federation in June after saying it had failed to comply within the prescribed deadline with a CAS ruling concerning the federation’s incorporation of organizations from occupied Ukrainian territories.
"We have a CAS decision we need to follow. There is no way around it,” Rosenstein said.
The status of Russian and Belarusian competitors has remained contentious across international sport since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with governing bodies balancing legal rulings, neutrality policies and political pressure.
Rosenstein said chess should remain a force for unity while operating within existing legal frameworks.
"Sport must be there to connect people, to bring peace into the world,” he said.
Rosenstein, founder of WR Chess and chairman of WR Group Holding, has faced questions during the campaign over potential conflicts of interest and his business links to Russia. WR Chess organizes elite tournaments featuring some of the world’s leading grandmasters.
Rosenstein’s WR Group previously carried out logistics, certification and other projects in Russia, including work in the oil and gas sector, but he has said those projects were dropped after sanctions were imposed following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
He rejected suggestions that private interests could influence FIDE decision-making under his leadership and said conflict-of-interest safeguards would be strengthened.
Under his proposed model, FIDE employees would not be permitted to work simultaneously for private chess organizations.
"If you are a FIDE employee, you need to work on FIDE only,” he said. "There will be no conflict of interest at all.”
Rosenstein said a central part of his program would be to professionalize FIDE’s internal operations and improve its commercial performance.
"Billions of people know what chess is, but we have only a few sponsors inside chess,” he said.