World chess champion Magnus Carlsen today made an announcement that a group of chess players should also seek the resignation of International Chess Federation (FIDE) President Arkady Dvorkovich, who, according to him, is guilty of forcing players and breaking ethical standards. Hence, the allegations came after the circulation of owned WhatsApp messages that placed Dvorkovich into a position of pressure on organizers to go for Russia–supported events. Freestyle Chess, a body non – aligned, made known the texts to have been senttoDvorkovich. In the text by Freestyle Chess, it was also alluded that the fans were misled about the actual deals with the sponsors and the organization of the tournament by Dvorkovich.
Carlsen, who is a five-time world champion and is on the side of Dvorkovich’s conduct “unacceptable,” told FIDE leadership to strive for honesty as a fundamental value. The Norwegian grandmaster complained about the countries not having kept the promises concerning the visa support to the Ukrainian players and the resources are not distributed equally among the non-Russian tournaments. A report by Freestyle Chess listed several examples showing that Dvorkovich used different ways of intimidation-, such as his tactic to withhold money from the UNESCO-member-federated associations that do not show their loyalty to the initiatives supported by the Kremlin
Dvorkovich’s response to Carlsen’s allegations was through a Russian Kremlin supporter who blatantly denied any acts of despicability by labeling the accusations as “a coordinated smear campaign.” Indeed, he confessed to the secret bribing of the organizers, but he claimed that they only centered around logistic coordination and not any pressure. FIDE’s ethics committee consented to an independent appraisal, but the opponents have raised one of the most controversial is the lack of objectivity on the side of Dvorkovich of the ethics group.
The chess community is going through a complicated period due to this potential scandal. The Russian GM Nepomniachtchi challenged the allegations and counterclaimed for Dvorkovich, in which he quoted him for his efforts to extend chess to underdeveloped countries. On the other hand, Ukrainian players indicted FIDE for totally overlooking them when Russia was invading. Russia was allowed to participate in events that were under the neutral flag set by their leaders, but in these events, Ukrania did not occur as its protest voice of Russia.
More and more revelations about the Freestyle Chess are surfacing, and the heat is on the Kremlin ties of FIDE to Russia. The documents indicate that Dvorkovich organized the Russian choices for tournaments, which got the financial backing of the state in exchange for political support. FIDE is designed to be free of political influence, it is just that the barriers for a political infringement are very weak. The Chess Union in Europe has issued a request for emergency elections, although procedural matters are delaying potential leadership changes.
Sponsors are now putting under review partnerships with FIDE due to a potential loss of partners. Mostly tech giants engaged in world-famous tournaments have called out fund allocation controls. Dvorkovich’s sympathizers claim that the whole issue is a result of the Western countries’ bid to reduce the chess domination of Russia. Nevertheless, the impartial observers emphasize the necessity of reforms that would make the governance of the sport more credible.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is claimed to be advising FIDE about the affair. The 2026 Youth Olympics, which will include chess, are at risk of being excluded should governance problems continue. Carlsen’s involvement becomes an element of the demand for change because the global impact he has is self-evident. The Norwegian chessman expressed a direct threat to the system of international chess events that he would boycott them if the leadership did not change, threatening the professional circuit to break apart.
As times go by and Dvorkovich’s power fades out, he is now experiencing dwindling support. The devastating scenario might be the end of Russo-Asian and Russo-African alliances as there have been serious accusations and subsequent calls for ‘moral’ checks to be proven. Congress of FIDE is happening in six months, that’s why it’s getting very hot in negotiations taking place behind the curtain. The dispute between the players and those who are fanatics of the game still goes on expecting a certain and definitive decision that would purify the sport from the immature political interest.