Timur Turlov, President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., and Evgeny Tyapkin, CEO of Freedom24, met on October 19 with the President of the Republic, Nicos Christodoulides, at the Presidential Palace.
“In just three years, Cyprus has become one of Europe’s most important chess centers, and we want to continue building on this success. Presenting our plans for chess in Cyprus to the President of the Republic was particularly important to us, and we thank him warmly for the time and attention he devoted to the sport,” said Timur Turlov, president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
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Timur Turlov was elected president of FIDE on September 26 at the Federation’s congress in Samarkand. His program for the 2027–2030 term allocates approximately €30 million over four years for the development of chess, including a Development Fund of €6.2 million per year—nearly four times the current budget. The fund’s resources will be allocated to tournaments, young athletes, school chess programs, coaches, referees, digital platforms, and the promotion of women’s chess.
Freedom has been the General Sponsor of the Cyprus Chess Federation since 2023. Since then, 26 tournaments have been organized on the island. These include stages of the FIDE Women’s World Grand Prix in Nicosia in 2023 and 2025, as well as the Challengers Tournament with a total prize fund of €1 million.
The event, held at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort, brought the world’s top players to our country for the first time in the history of Cypriot chess.
The Freedom24 Chess Academy opened its doors in Limassol on March 1, 2025, under the leadership of International Master Artem Santovsky. Its goal is to develop strong chess players who will represent Cyprus in international competitions. According to the Cyprus Chess Federation, approximately 2,000 people on the island are now actively involved in chess, the majority of whom are children.
