4 min readJul 24, 2026 09:15 AM IST Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand has taken over as the interim president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) on Friday, following the European Union’s sanctions against current president Arkady Dvorkovich. Dvorkovich was named in the EU’s 21st sanctions package, which imposes restrictive measures against Russia in response to its ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. The 54-year-old Russian, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 2012 to 2018, has been at the helm of FIDE since 2018, when he defeated Georgios Makropoulos in the presidential election. Anand, who teamed up with Dvorkovich in 2022, played a crucial role in helping the Russian secure re-election as FIDE president. In return, Anand was appointed deputy FIDE president, defeating the duo of Andrii Baryshpolets and Peter Heine Nielsen in the 2022 FIDE Congress in Chennai, held on the sidelines of the Mahabalipuram Chess Olympiad. Anand has made it clear that he will not stand for the FIDE deputy president’s post again. He will, however, continue to be part …