Chess + branding + marketing + design + photography + communication professional.
Bangalore, India
Joined March 2023
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Two words come to mind after going through the organizational structure: bloated and convoluted. 'Media & PR', 'Marketing', and 'External Relations & Communications' should really be one department. PR is ER+Comms!
FIDE 3.0 needs consolidation and efficiency, not this!
♟ FIDE: The Next Stage of Development
FIDE is introducing a new organizational structure designed to establish a clearer division of responsibilities between its governing bodies and administrative units, strengthen governance, and improve operational efficiency.
Read the full statement by FIDE President Timur Turlov (@TurlovforChess) here:
fide.com/fide-the-next-stage…
Even after being a Premium subscriber—I paid for a whole year from 01-Oct-2026 to 01-Oct-2027—this is what I'm shown when I click on the Premium tab on X web.
Is @X trying to push this onto people just days after they purchased a now-defunct Premium subscription? Why, X, why?
Apparently, if one opts for the new and significantly more expensive X Subscription, any unused amount from the Premium subscription gets refunded.
I don't want a bundled subscription for Grok or Cursor when the earlier Premium subscription met my needs! Why so sneaky, @X?
Strong move!
I was able to take advantage of this Covid-era waiver in 2021–2022 with five FIDE-rated blitz and four FIDE-rated rapid tournaments organised in Mombasa and Nairobi.
I hope this announcement reaches all federations, especially those affiliated to @AfricaChess_Off.
♟️ FIDE extends Rapid and Blitz rating fee waiver through 2027!
The FIDE Council has extended the waiver to support players, federations and tournament organizers, encourage participation and promote chess worldwide.
Since its introduction in 2021, nearly €2 million in rating fees has been waived.
🔗 Read the full announcement: fide.com/fide-extends-fee-wa…
Why does X make us jump through hoops for resolution of an issue involving a Premium subscription when we are paying clients? Are they nudging us towards a more expensive X Subscription?
Ticket Number: T-I26049
Issue ID: PRO-110119
@Subscriptions @Support @CMN_XAI_Support
I paid for a whole year of X Premium on 1-Oct-2026 and have lost Premium privileges since 8-Oct-2026. Don't know if it's a technical glitch or something I posted. Anyone know how to get help when you're unable to DM @premium or @X? The support section isn't helpful!
Hi, @Support and @CMN_XAI_Support, please help me resolve the issue in the above post. I have also just sent an email to [email protected] after receiving an automated reply from [email protected] saying '...this mailbox is no longer monitored'.
Speaking of websites, here's a brand spanking new one for my personal brand, where I will begin publishing all new chess stories very soon:
misterpvg.xyz/bio
(For now, it contains version 1 of my bio and all of my social links on one page.)
In the 15 years since I became aware of the African Chess Confederation (ACC), I haven't seen their website this well-designed and packed full of information!
Kudos to whomever has built—and continues to update—it. May accuracy improve with time.
Link: africachessconfederation.org…
Is anyone actually trying to replace FIDE's rating lists?
The more rating systems there are, the better for chess visibility, overall.
Also, for there to be one true rating to rule them all, it would have to take into consideration online play too. How would that work?
Chess has a new “one rating to rule them all.” Carlsen leads it.
But the Grand Chess Tour tried a similar idea in 2017 and it never replaced FIDE’s lists.
Can Total Chess succeed where the earlier system didn’t?
buff.ly/fijHwTj
Photo: Michal Walusza/Norway Chess.
If you rely on @BruvschessMedia for factual reporting of events in the chess world, please note that the 'praising its multilingual support and federation directory' bit is a complete fabrication. Check my X feed to verify what I actually wrote.
This quoted post is unavailable.
In the 15 years since I became aware of the African Chess Confederation (ACC), I haven't seen their website this well-designed and packed full of information!
Kudos to whomever has built—and continues to update—it. May accuracy improve with time.
Link: africachessconfederation.org…
Interesting documentary by King Takes King on whether @chesscom is/was a monopoly, with some juicy gossip about @TakeTakeTakeApp taking them on and the consequences thereof:
youtu.be/B2ppVg5BqEA
If anyone knows when and on which platform 'Grandmasters' will be streamed, please share relevant info in the comments. Thanks. 🙏🏽
The chess documentary 'Grandmasters', featuring Magnus Carlsen, Wesley So and Hans Niemann, has been released in US theaters, screening at 92 AMC locations on October 11. #chess
chessnewsnetwork.com/article…
Which city will host Africa's first official #ChessOlympiad? Will it be in the 2030s or will we have to wait longer? @AfricaChess_Off
A very basic geographical and political history of the #ChessOlympiad:
Unofficial:
a. 1924 / Paris, France
b. 1926 / Budapest, Hungary
c. 1936 / Munich, Nazi Germany
d. 1976 / Tripoli, Libya (Against Chess Olympiad)
e. 2020 / (Online)
f. 2021 / China (Online)
Official:
1. 1927 / London, United Kingdom
2. 1928 / The Hague, Netherlands
3. 1930 / Hamburg, Weimar Republic
4. 1931 / Prague, Czechoslovakia
5. 1933 / Folkestone, United Kingdom
6. 1935 / Warsaw, Poland
7. 1937 / Stockholm, Sweden
8. 1939 / Buenos Aires, Argentina
9. 1950 / Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia
10. 1952 / Helsinki, Finland
11. 1954 / Amsterdam, Netherlands
12. 1956 / Moscow, Soviet Union
13. 1958 / Munich, West Germany
14. 1960 / Leipzig, East Germany
15. 1962 / Varna, Bulgaria
16. 1964 / Tel Aviv, Israel
17. 1966 / Havana, Cuba
18. 1968 / Lugano, Switzerland
19. 1970 / Siegen, West Germany
20. 1972 / Skopje, Yugoslavia
21. 1974 / Nice, France
22. 1976 / Haifa, Israel
23. 1978 / Buenos Aires, Argentina
24. 1980 / Valletta, Malta
25. 1982 / Lucerne, Switzerland
26. 1984 / Thessaloniki, Greece
27. 1986 / Dubai, UAE
28. 1988 / Thessaloniki, Greece
29. 1990 / Novi Sad, Yugoslavia
30. 1992 / Manila, Philippines
31. 1994 / Moscow, Russia
32. 1996 / Yerevan, Armenia
33. 1998 / Elista, Russia
34. 2000 / Istanbul, Turkey
35. 2002 / Bled, Slovenia
36. 2004 / Calvia, Spain
37. 2006 / Turin, Italy
38. 2008 / Dresden, Germany
39. 2010 / Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia
40. 2012 / Istanbul, Turkey
41. 2014 / Tromso, Norway
42. 2016 / Baku, Azerbaijan
43. 2018 / Batumi, Georgia
44. 2022 / Chennai, India
45. 2024 / Budapest, Hungary
46. 2026 / Samarkand, Uzbekistan
47. 2028 / Abu Dhabi, UAE
48. 2030 / TBD (Qatar or Georgia)
The African Chess Confederation is now 'Africa Chess Confederation' and has a new X account at @AfricaChess_Off and website at africachessconfederation.org.
The previous X accounts of the ACC were:
- @AfricaChessConf (President: Mr. Ncube)
- @AfricanChessCon (President: Ms. Lopang)
@X @premium I paid for a premium subscription on 1st October 2026 and till yesterday I had the blue checkmark and everything worked fine. Now my checkmark is gone, and clicking on Premium leads me back to the Home page on X web. What's going on?
This article on the @ChessTopics website was written two months before the FIDE presidential election and offers the casual reader some insight into why @WadimRosenstein didn't prevail over @TurlovforChess in Samarkand.
I learnt three things from it that I hadn't known earlier:
a. 'Before 2022, he had virtually no visible public profile within international chess. His emergence coincided with the creation of WR Chess and his first widely noticed appearances alongside Sergey Karjakin...'
b. That he is the president of the European Federation of Mixed Martial Arts (how would he manage to run FIDE simultaneously?) and
c. That he backed the losing ticket in the @ECUonline election.
Once I have enough information about all three candidates, I might attempt to analyse their campaigns and distil my learnings into an X article for your benefit.
Two continents. Two defeats.
First Europe. Now Africa.
Can a campaign built on financial investment overcome consecutive political setbacks?
Why the elections in Bucharest and Addis Ababa may have fundamentally changed the dynamics of the race for the FIDE Presidency, and why political legitimacy cannot be built overnight.
chesstopics.com/the-politics…
A strong move!
(If they don't reject applications from people who have publicly criticised them but have a lot to offer, both @FIDE_chess and @TurlovforChess will have my respect. They should also consider approaching potential commission/committee members directly.)
Before they even accept any new applications, though, FIDE really needs to first constitute a 'Commission and Committee Review Board' to restructure, streamline, and debloat existing commissions and committees and to establish new ones in a more logical fashion.
Examples:
a. Absorb FPL into ARB.
b. Integrate EDU within TRG.
c. QC, RC, and VER should really be a part of TEC.
d. EVE, PDC, and GSC should really be one commission along with the Chess in Multi-sport Games Committee.
e. CON and HC can also be combined into one.
f. ATH and MED too.
Mr. Turlov needs his own @JMilei moment (from the famous video clip of him ripping ministry labels off a white board followed by an emphatic, 'Afuera!' after each – you can watch it here: youtu.be/kUYPNsTpO4Y).
All in all, I welcome such moves as they will help bring back the trust and transparency that have been missing for decades.
♟ FIDE Announces Open Call for Commission Nominations
Following the election of the new FIDE leadership, we are entering a new chapter of our work – building on what has been achieved, continuing the projects that have proven successful, and developing new initiatives that can make FIDE and chess even more effective, innovative, and impactful.
FIDE Commissions and Committees play a vital role in this process. Their expertise, commitment, and connection with the chess community are essential to turning our strategic priorities into meaningful action.
With this in mind, FIDE is launching an open process for nominations to all non-elected positions within FIDE Commissions/Committees.
Read more: fide.com/fide-announces-open…
Whether as a player, commentator, or spectator, if you've ever been bored by draws, this 12-minute video might get you to appreciate one of the world's nuttiest and most influential GMs:
Bobby Fischer Warned Us About Modern Chess, But Nobody Listened
youtu.be/owYsul7PvPE?si=Fd2T…