Filatov Elected President of the Russian Chess Federation

Businessman, art and chess lover Andrey Filatov has been elected President of the Russian Chess Federation. Filatov replaced Arkady Dvorkovich, who had been the head of the federation for the last four years. The election took place on Saturday at the federation's 22nd Congress.

A press release from the Russian Chess Federation informs about the  22^nd congress of the Russian Chess Federation which took place last Saturday in Moscow, with delegates from 62 regional chess federations across the country taking part. The congress approved changes to the Statutes of the Russian Chess Federation and elected new governing bodies.

Amendments to the Statutes of the Russian Chess Federation were adopted by majority vote of the congress. In particular, the delegates adopted a decision to reinstate the post of President of the Russian Chess Federation, with the role of a single executive body, in place of the post of Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Russian Chess Federation which has been in use in recent years.

The businessman Andrey Filatov, nominated by a number of regional organisations, was elected President of the Russian Chess Federation by an overwhelming majority of votes – 75 out of 77. Mr Filatov was replaced Arkady Dvorkovich, who has been the head of the federation for the last four years.

In his speech, Mr Dvorkovich asked the congress not to extend his term as president of the federation because of his heavy government workload and recommended the delegates should support the candidacy of Andrey Filatov. The businessman is well known in the chess world as one of the founders of the “Chess in Museums” programme and as the initiator and sponsor of world-class chess events such as the 2012 World championship match and the 2013 Alekhine Memorial. Mr Dvorkovich himself expressed his willingness to serve on the federation’s Board of Trustees, thereby helping to develop and promote Russian chess.

In his first speech in the new role Andrey Filatov thanked the congress delegates and the previous leadership of the Russian Chess Federation for their trust. “This is a great honour for me,” said Mr Filatov. “I am sure that by working together we shall enable Russia’s chess players to really fulfil their potential and to maintain the leading position which they have achieved in the world in recent years. The main areas of our work are to increase the popularity of chess in Russia and to develop children’s and young people’s chess. Chess is not only a sport but also an excellent way of addressing social issues.”

Filatov also thanked Mr Dvorkovich for being willing to join the federation’s Board of Trustees and noted the excellent work being done by the federation. He said that never in the post-Soviet period had Russian chess had such success and such a high level of support.

At the suggestion of the federation’s President the congress voted for a new Supervisory Board consisting of five vice-presidents and 26 representatives of the regional federations. Alexander Zhukov, President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Natalya Komarova, Governor of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area, Anatoly Karpov, 12-time world chess champion, Andrey Selivanov, Deputy Executive Director of the Russian Olympic Committee, and Pavel Shinsky, Director of the Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, were elected vice-presidents of the Russian Chess Federation.

The Supervisory Board appointed Mark Glukhovsky, editor in chief of 64 Chess Review, to the post of Executive Director of the Russian Chess Federation in place of Ilya Levitov.

Federation's structure

The structure of the Russian Chess Federation consists of the following governing bodies:

• the Congress
• the Supervisory Board
• the Board of Management

The congress is the supreme governing body of the RCF and is convened at least once every four years. The Supervisory Board is an elected collegial body which determines the areas of priority in the RCF’s work. The Board of Management of the RCF is the federation’s permanent elected collegial governing body, which exercises the rights of legal entity on behalf of the RCF and fulfils the obligations of the RCF.

Andrey Filatov

Andrey Filatov was born in 1971 in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine. He is a graduate of the Academy of Physical Education and Sport of the Republic of Belarus with a specialisation in chess coaching. He holds the rank of Candidate for Master of Sport of the USSR.

He is an entrepreneur and shareholder in Russia’s biggest port operator, Global Ports, and the Globaltrans railway group. He is actively involved in the development and implementation of transport infrastructure development projects.

Mr Filatov is a member of the Economic Council of the Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFR) and is involved in financing a number of humanitarian programmes.

Andrey Filatov is the founder of the Filatov Family Art Fund, the aim of which is to identify and collect Russian and Soviet works of art from the period of 1917 to 1991 which have been taken out of Russia, to study them and to promote this period in the history of Russian art.

Mr Filatov is actively involved in implementing social assistance programmes and is engaged in philanthropic activity. He financed the restoration of the gravestone of Alexander Alekhine, the famous chess player and the first world champion of Russian origin, in Paris.

The FIDE World Chess Championship match was held in May 2012 with support from Andrey Filatov in Moscow, at the State Tretyakov Gallery.

The Alekhine Memorial international chess tournament took place in April 2013 in Paris and St Petersburg on the initiative and with the support of Andrey Filatov.

Supporting Ilyumzhinov

The changes in the federation come shortly after the Russian Chess Federation expressed its support for Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. In December 2013 it was announced that the federation would vote for the incumbent president at the next FIDE elections. This decision was somewhat surprising, since the relationship between the Russian Chess Federation and the World Chess Federation wasn't great. “The FIDE President has not fulfilled any promises that he made when he was elected,” said Mr Dvorkovich at a Supervisory Board meeting in the fall of 2013. At the moment it is unclear whether the change at the top will influence the Russian vote in Tromsø.