FIDE could be on the verge of scrapping its presidential term limit and allowing Russian incumbent Arkady Dvorkovich to run for four more years in office.

The world chess federation’s current rules—brought in as an election promise by Dvorkovich—are contained in the FIDE Charter and state the president has to step down after two four-year terms in power.

But a controversial amendment, to be discussed when FIDE meets for its annual general assembly on Sunday, seeks to remove that clause. The motion was tabled by the federations representing 21 mostly small chess nations and has been listed on the agenda under “administrative matters.”

Sunday’s proposal, first uncovered by the site Chess-News, was highlighted by FIDE watchers on X, the platform formally known as Twitter. It drew immediate criticism.

GM Peter Heine Nielsen, a frequent commentator on FIDE matters, said:

Tomorrow there will be a vote on extending term limits, meaning FIDE President Dvorkovich🇷🇺 can run for a 3, term, extending his reign until 2030.

Dvorkovich is closely connected to the Kremlin, and has a long history supporting Russia’s🇷🇺 war against Ukraine🇺🇦 since 2014: pic.twitter.com/bafhIdQyBg

— Peter Heine Nielsen (@PHChess) December 16, 2023

Replies on his feed were quick to draw comparisons with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who has caused concern by circumventing constitutional term limits. Putin has held continuous positions as president or prime minister since 1999 and, due to an amendment to the constitution in 2020, is now exempt from presidential term limits until 2036.

Dvorkovich served as deputy prime minister under Putin from 2012 to 2018, and it has been suggested he is adopting the same methods:

The two term limit is there for a reason. FIDE President Dvorkovich shouldn’t adopt the methods of RUS President Putin’s dictatorship.

— Bobby Fiske (@BobbyFiske) December 15, 2023

GM Jacob Aagaard also noted that Dvorkovich went back on his key election promise to stop terms of office like the 23-year reign of his predecessor Kirsan Ilyumzhinov from happening again. Aagaard said:

So one of the biggest promises in the election in 2018 is being reversed…

— GM Jacob Aagaard (@GMJacobAagaard) December 15, 2023

Before he was elected in 2018, Dvorkovich told the media: “The FIDE President must serve the chess community, and regardless of the results of his work, a maximum of two presidential terms must be established.”

“Президент @FIDE_chess должен служить шахматному сообществу, и независимо от результатов его работы должно быть установлено максимум два президентских срока”.

Из предвыборной программы аркадия дворковича, 2018 год. https://t.co/dQNYibbOWp pic.twitter.com/ZxuYAHmjGV

— Chess-News Шахматы без цензуры (@Chess__News) December 16, 2023

During that election campaign, Dvorkovich received support from, among others, the influential Association of Chess Professionals.

In a pre-election endorsement posted on its website, the ACP stated: “ACP strongly supports the view that no President should be serving for more than two consecutive terms. This is vital to democracy in every major organization and FIDE is no exception.”

The reaction in Russia to Dvorkovich winning was positive with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling the RIA news agency: “The election of the head of FIDE is very important, it’s a global event, and, of course, we were rooting for Dvorkovich, a Russian citizen.”

Announcing Dvorkovich’s re-election in 2022 at the general assembly in Chennai, India, FIDE’s own website stated: “Dvorkovich’s second term will also be the last, as one of the first tasks that he undertook shortly after being elected in 2018 was to renew the FIDE Charter, introduce term limits, and other democratic reforms.”

If approved, the change would allow the 51-year-old to extend his term as one of the few Russians still in charge of international sporting organizations since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The other main outlier is the International Judo Federation (IJF), under the leadership of its President Marius Vizer, reportedly a long-time close friend of Putin.

Since his election in a bruising contest back in 2018, Dvorkovich has faced constant criticism for his links to the Russian government—particularly since Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine.

On becoming FIDE president, Dvorkovich moved swiftly to deliver on his election promise and introduced Article 18.12 of the FIDE Charter which states: “A person cannot serve as FIDE President for more than two terms of four years. Terms may be consecutive or non-consecutive.”

In his letter to FIDE, the president of the Andorra Chess Federation, Francesc Rechi Pérez, argues the time is right for the change.

He said: “The 2023 GA is an appropriate moment to reverse/make the respective amendments to the Charter while this is the least politicized period in between elections, and there are no direct beneficiaries from adoption of the change in regulations.”

The full list of federations endorsing the proposal:

• • Andorra Chess Federation
  • Brazilian Chess Federation
  • Bolivian Chess Federation
  • Chess Kenya Federation
  • Chilean Chess Federation
  • Colombian Chess Federation
  • Costa Rica Chess Federation
  • Libyan Chess Federation
  • Mexican Chess Federation
  • National Federation of Guatemala
  • Nicaragua National Chess Federation
  • Palestine Chess Federation
  • Paraguayan Chess Federation
  • Peruvian Chess Federation
  • Puerto Rico Chess Federation
  • Royal Jordanian Chess Federation
  • Salvadorian Chess Federation
  • Sudan Chess Federation
  • Syrian Chess Federation
  • Uruguayan Chess Federation
  • Yemen Chess Federation