Chauhan was declared an eligible candidate by FIDE’s Electoral Commission on August 30, but became ineligible after Anand’s election because Article 22.6 bars more than one representative of the same Member Federation from simultaneously serving on the FIDE Council.
BY Navin Upadhyay
September 26/ Former All India Chess Federation secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan will no longer contest for one of the elected Vice-President posts of FIDE after Viswanathan Anand was elected Deputy President on Timur Turlov’s successful presidential ticket.
Chauhan had been a valid candidate for the FIDE Vice-President election. The FIDE Electoral Commission, in its August 30 decision, had formally approved his candidature along with those of 17 other candidates for the four elected Vice-President positions.
However, FIDE’s Electoral Rules contain a specific restriction on multiple representatives of the same national federation serving on the FIDE Council at the same time.
🎙️ @TurlovforChess shares his first words after being elected FIDE President. pic.twitter.com/T5tmIectuA
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 26, 2026
Article 22.6 of the FIDE Electoral Rules states that no more than one representative from the same Member Federation may serve on the Council simultaneously, except for Presidents of FIDE Continents. The provision further deals specifically with candidates for elected Vice-President who belong to the same federation as the newly elected President or Deputy President, providing that such candidates are “no longer eligible.”
That provision became directly relevant after the General Assembly elected the Turlov-Anand ticket on Saturday.
Turlov, 38, won the FIDE presidential election in the second round, defeating Wadim Rosenstein. Anand, representing India, became Deputy President as part of Turlov’s joint ticket. The FIDE election rules provide for the presidential and Deputy President positions to be contested on a joint ticket, while the elected Vice-Presidents are elected separately.
The sequence is significant. Chauhan was eligible when he filed his nomination and when the Electoral Commission approved his candidature. It was Anand’s subsequent election to the FIDE Council as Deputy President that triggered the federation-representation restriction.
“Technically, I can’t contest now, because no member country can have more than one official on the FIDE board,” Chauhan said when contacted for his reaction.
Chauhan had filed his nomination for Vice-President well before Anand joined Turlov’s presidential slate. His candidature therefore was not initially barred by the rule. Once Anand was elected Deputy President, however, the rule meant that another Indian candidate for an elected Vice-President position could no longer remain eligible.
The distinction is important: Chauhan did not become ineligible because he voluntarily withdrew. His candidature became ineligible under the FIDE Electoral Rules following Anand’s election, after which he withdrew from the contest.
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FIDE’s official election schedule also confirms the sequence. The presidential and Deputy President positions were to be elected on September 26, followed by the election of four Vice-Presidents.
The development ends one of India’s bids for an elected position on the FIDE Council, although India remains represented at the top level through Anand.
Chauhan, who is also Chairman of the Commonwealth Chess Association, was re-elected unopposed as CCA chairman for 2026–2030 in May.
His withdrawal therefore should not be described simply as a candidate abandoning the FIDE race. Under Article 22.6, the election of Anand as Deputy President changed Chauhan’s eligibility for the separate Vice-President election.
For the record, FIDE’s own Electoral Commission had recognised Chauhan as a valid candidate only weeks earlier, underscoring that his disqualification arose from the subsequent composition of the FIDE Council rather than from any defect in his original nomination.
