Weekly Recap: Turlov Takes Over FIDE as Uzbekistan Wins Gold in Samarkand

Samarkand dominated the week. The Olympiad ended, FIDE elected a new president at the same General Assembly, and the stories around those two events fill most of this recap. Online events, rating news, a tournament-size roundup and two off-the-board stories round out the 19 pieces.

Turlov and the FIDE Assembly

Timur Turlov was elected the eighth President of FIDE on September 26 at the General Assembly in Samarkand. He won a second-round runoff, 110-85.

Turlov had given an interview to American Chess Magazine in early August, before the vote. In it he described chess as “massively undervalued”, and it now reads as a statement of intent from the man in charge.

The Assembly also made decisions beyond the election. FIDE’s summary covers a leadership slate, a charter change, a new rating list and a hosting plan for 2030. Most of the lasting business sits outside the elections.

Uzbekistan’s Olympiad

Uzbekistan won the Open section at home, beating Ukraine 2.5-1.5 in the final round. It is the country’s second Olympiad title after Chennai 2022. Four of the five players from that 2022 squad repeated the feat.

The closing ceremony featured medals, national anthems, opera, fireworks and a drone show over the Eternal City amphitheater. FIDE’s reporter called it one of the best send-offs of any Olympiad covered.

Afterward the five gold medalists sat down with ChessBase India’s Sagar Shah. Our write-up looks at the personalities behind a 10-0-1 record, and they turn out to be considerably funnier than the record suggests.

At the Women’s Olympiad, England put 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan on top board. She finished with 8/11 and her third norm, which makes her the youngest WGM in chess history.

Ratings and the U.S. Championship

The first FIDE list since the Olympiad puts Javokhir Sindarov within two points of Fabiano Caruana and reshuffles the middle of the top ten. Magnus Carlsen (2823) and Hikaru Nakamura (2792) skipped the Olympiad and stay first and second. Alireza Firouzja also sat it out and remains tenth at 2757.

Next up is Saint Louis. The club has announced 12-player fields for the U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship, played over the board from Oct. 8 to 23. Round 1 is Oct. 9, and the total prize fund tops $400,000.

For readers new to the format, we also published an explainer on how a player earns a shot at the world title. It covers the two-year qualifying cycle that ends at the Candidates, where eight players compete for one place in the match.

ChessBase marked Jon Speelman’s 70th birthday on 2 October with a career review. We summarized his Candidates semifinal run, his peak as joint fourth in the world and his later work as an analyst.

Online Events

Hikaru Nakamura won Bullet Brawl for the third week running on September 26. He finished with 172 points, 25 clear of the field, for his 68th title and his 19th of 2026.

Wesley So won Titled Tuesday on September 29, starting 7/7 and finishing on 9.5. It was his first win in the event this year.

On October 2, Matthias Bluebaum won the Freestyle Friday opener outright with nine points. Oleksandr Bortnyk, Pranav Venkatesh and SL Narayanan followed on 8.5/11.

Festivals and Big Fields

Judit Polgar’s Global Chess Festival at the Hungarian National Gallery on September 26 went less smoothly than usual for the host. She scored 3.5-1.5 against five communities, with three wins, a draw and a loss.

Among the 770 European tournaments tracked in September, the Craiova Grand Prix Rapid was the largest, with 303 players. It ran September 12 and 13 in Romania and was organized by the Romanian Chess Federation.

Asia’s biggest field was far larger. The CM Trophy School Boys event in Chennai drew 1,935 players on Sept. 15 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, organized by the Chennai District Chess Association.

Off the Board

Garry Kasparov was told by U.S. authorities this summer that he was the target of a plot, according to a report in Spain’s El Mundo. The paper cited a source close to him, who said: “US authorities confirmed to him this summer that he is a target.” He was placed under special protection.

Melbourne streamer Hanna Sayce spoke about a stalking case that led to her being detained in Qatar and again in Iceland, after false claims that she was smuggling drugs. The man accused faces 35 charges and remains in custody ahead of a hearing in October.