The meeting covered the development of chess in Cyprus, where Freedom is the General Partner of the national federation.
Timur Turlov, President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., and Evgenii Tiapkin, CEO of Freedom24, met with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nikos Christodoulides, at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on 19 October.
“In three years, Cyprus has become one of Europe’s chess hubs, and we want to keep building on that. It was important for us to present our plans for chess on the island to the President, and we are grateful for his time and attention to the game,” said Timur Turlov, President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
Timur Turlov was elected President of FIDE on 26 September at the FIDE Congress in Samarkand. His programme for 2027–2030 provides around €30 million over four years for the development of chess, including a Development Fund of €6.2 million a year, almost four times the current budget. The fund covers competitions, young players, chess in education, coaches and arbiters, digital tools and women’s chess.
Freedom has been the General Partner of the Cyprus Chess Federation since 2023, and over this time 26 tournaments have been held on the island, including stages of the FIDE Women’s World Grand Prix in Nicosia in 2023 and 2025, and the Candidates Tournament with a €1 million prize fund. Held at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort, the Candidates brought the world’s leading players to the island for the first time in its chess history.
The Freedom24 Chess Academy opened in Limassol on 1 March 2025 and is led by International Master Artem Sadovsky. Its aim is to develop strong players who can represent Cyprus at international level. According to the Cyprus Chess Federation, around 2,000 people on the island now play chess actively, most of them children.
