The Platform
Six Pillars.
Forty Commitments.
Not slogans — a concrete plan for what changes on day one, and what we build together over four years.
Pillar One
Grassroots First
The health of world chess is measured not by the strength of its elite players, but by the number of people who play. FIDE must redirect meaningful resources toward national federations, school programmes, and youth development — the foundation everything else rests upon.
- Double annual development grants to federations with fewer than 5,000 rated players
- Create a dedicated FIDE Schools Fund — $3M per year, ring-fenced
- Launch free online training resources for teachers and school chess coaches globally
- Partner with UNESCO to integrate chess into national curricula in 20 countries by 2028
- Establish an Annual World Schools Championship with subsidised entry for developing nations
- Regional development offices on every populated continent
Pillar Two
Women's Chess
Chess has a gender problem — and pretending otherwise has cost the game enormously. Equal prize funds, equal visibility, and equal representation in governance are not demands to be negotiated. They are the baseline standard of a serious sport in the 21st century.
- Equal prize funds in all FIDE-sanctioned events within four years — guaranteed
- Mandatory 50% women's representation on all FIDE committees by end of year one
- A single unified title system: no more separate women's and open norms
- Expanded Women's Grand Prix with six events annually and increased prize fund
- Dedicated Women in Chess bursary programme for federation officials and arbiters
- Annual Women's Chess Congress to set the agenda, chaired by women
Pillar Three
Digital Transformation
Chess had its best moment in decades when the world was locked down and millions turned to online chess. We failed to capitalise on that. A modern FIDE must make top-level chess appointment viewing, build a world-class digital presence, and embrace the technologies that the next generation of chess fans expects.
- Official FIDE live streaming hub — free to watch, multi-language commentary
- Dedicated broadcast partnerships with global streaming platforms
- Invest in production quality: commentary, graphics, analysis tools for every major event
- AI-powered game analysis available to all FIDE.com users for free
- Annual FIDE Digital Strategy report, published and open to all federations
- FIDE Online Championships for youth and amateur players, run quarterly
Pillar Four
Transparent Governance
Trust is earned through accountability. FIDE's finances, decisions, and processes must be transparent to every federation that votes and contributes. An ethics committee with no power is theatre. An audit with no publication is meaningless. We change both.
- Full audited annual accounts published and freely available to all member federations
- Independent Ethics Commission with enforcement powers and genuine independence from the board
- Term limits for the Presidential office — two four-year terms, maximum
- Open competitive bidding for all FIDE World Championship hosting rights
- Quarterly financial updates sent to all national federations
- Whistleblower protection policy for anyone raising governance concerns
Pillar Five
Global Inclusion
FIDE has 190 member federations, but the resources and attention have historically flowed to a small number of established chess nations. This is a strategic failure as much as a moral one. The next great chess nations are in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific — and FIDE should be investing in them, not leaving them behind.
- Dedicated Africa Development Fund — $2M annually to support African federations
- Travel and accommodation subsidies for players from developing nations at all FIDE events
- Regional Zonal Championship prize funds raised to meaningful levels
- Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chinese as fully supported FIDE working languages
- Para Chess development programme with dedicated budget and global reach
- FIDE membership fee waiver for the 50 smallest federations
Pillar Six
Anti-Cheating & Integrity
The 2022 controversy surrounding cheating allegations at the highest level exposed how ill-equipped FIDE was to handle integrity crises. Chess must be trusted to be loved. We need world-leading anti-cheating protocols, a properly resourced integrity unit, and clear, fair processes that protect players' rights while protecting the game's credibility.
- Independent Integrity Unit — fully resourced, reporting to the FIDE General Assembly
- State-of-the-art anti-cheating technology mandatory at all FIDE-rated OTB events above 2200
- Clear, published appeal process for any integrity decisions — no more opaque rulings
- Annual Integrity Report, covering all cases and outcomes, published publicly
- Partnership with academic institutions researching chess cheating detection
- Zero tolerance for bribery or corruption at any level of FIDE governance
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