{"id":1867,"date":"2026-09-02T08:37:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T08:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/09\/02\/viswanathan-anand-fide-presidency-gcl\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T08:37:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T08:37:59","slug":"viswanathan-anand-fide-presidency-gcl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/09\/02\/viswanathan-anand-fide-presidency-gcl\/","title":{"rendered":"Viswanathan Anand Balances Interim FIDE Presidency With Global Chess League Play"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Viswanathan Anand, the Chennai\u2011born grandmaster who has been a central figure in Indian chess for decades, assumed the role of interim president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) on July 24, 2026. His appointment followed the voluntary withdrawal of Arkady Dvorkovich, who stepped back amid European Union and Swiss sanctions. Anand\u2019s interim term is set to conclude with the scheduled FIDE presidential election on September 26, after which a permanent president will be chosen.<\/p>\n<h2>From Deputy to Head of the Federation<\/h2>\n<p>At 56 years old, Anand reflected on the shift in responsibilities during an exclusive interview with Times of India. He described the new position as \u201cmore work than being deputy president,\u201d noting that, as deputy, he would only act when Dvorkovich was unavailable. Now, he must oversee the federation\u2019s day\u2011to\u2011day operations, a task he has been managing largely from India.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the added workload, Anand said his travel schedule has actually decreased. \u201cI\u2019ve travelled less,\u201d he explained, adding that pre\u2011planned commitments have limited his need for extensive trips. Instead, he has been participating in \u201cmany, many more meetings, quite often, very long Zoom meetings with lots of people from all over the world\u201d to discuss FIDE matters.<\/p>\n<p>He described a recent peak in the intensity of these meetings, noting that the agenda is now largely set for the General Assembly in Samarkand, scheduled for the end of the year. In the days following that peak, he observed a slight easing of the schedule.<\/p>\n<h2>Returning to Competitive Play<\/h2>\n<p>While overseeing the sport\u2019s governing body, Anand has also confirmed his continued involvement as a player in the Global Chess League (GCL) for the 2026 season. He will compete with the Alaskan Knights, a new team for him after three seasons with the Ganges Grandmasters. The former world champion emphasized that his \u201chunger for the GCL trophy is still there\u201d and expressed a strong desire to help his new squad reach the final.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking about the nature of the league, Anand said, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what you did in your career. If you\u2019re playing this tournament, then you enjoy it, and you try to play.\u201d He described the GCL as a \u201cnew kind of experience\u201d that differs from the traditional events he used to play, offering a ten\u2011day to two\u2011week stretch of intense competition that he looks forward to.<\/p>\n<p>Although the Alaskan Knights represent a fresh roster, Anand noted that familiar faces will be present. He recalled playing alongside Arjun two years ago, when the latter was also a teammate. Anand expects that meeting his teammates on the first day will help the group settle quickly, saying, \u201cI think once I go there and meet my teammates, on the first day itself, it\u2019ll feel normal.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Balancing Administration, Family and Chess<\/h2>\n<p>Anand stressed that he maintains a personal routine that separates his administrative duties from his preparation for matches. He clarified that he does not intend to hold prolonged FIDE meetings while on the board, reserving extended discussions for genuine emergencies. \u201cIf there\u2019s some FIDE emergency, I might take a decision quickly, but otherwise I don\u2019t expect to have long meetings while I\u2019m there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>His approach to daily preparation remains straightforward: he knows who he will face the next day and readies himself accordingly. This pragmatic mindset, he believes, allows him to stay focused on the GCL despite the concurrent responsibilities of running the federation.<\/p>\n<p>The upcoming GCL competition is slated for September 5\u201113 in Bengaluru. Anand asserted that the level of play will be \u201cas competitive as anywhere else,\u201d noting that while some openings may appear less serious, they are often adaptations to the faster time controls and the pressure of supporting teammates. He concluded that once the distinct atmosphere of a team event is taken into account, the competition is \u201cjust as competitive as they are anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the interim presidency draws to a close, Anand\u2019s dual role underscores a rare convergence of high\u2011level sports administration and active competition. His statements suggest that, even amid \u201cvery long meetings,\u201d his passion for the 64\u2011square board remains undiminished, and he looks forward to contributing both on and off the chessboard before the September 26 election determines the next permanent FIDE leader.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>World champion Viswanathan Anand serves as interim FIDE president while gearing up for the Global Chess League with the Alaskan Knights, saying his competitive drive remains strong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[470,1867,1868,1869,1866],"class_list":["post-1867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-chess","tag-fide","tag-global-chess-league","tag-sports-administration","tag-viswanathan-anand","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}